Trailer with kids inside rolls over during storm in Fayette County

By Tori Yorgey

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    MILL RUN, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — Residents were waking up to storm damage in Mill Run, Fayette County, on Friday morning.

Trees were down throughout the area, particularly on Mill Run Road, near and in the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park Campground.

“After 2 a.m., when the storm started, Springfield Township was first being dispatched with downed trees, downed power lines. Then calls were coming in for the (campground) itself, then countywide, we started getting other calls in surrounding townships.”

Doug Show, a resident of the area, said his three barns were damaged, as well as two machine sheds, and that a trailer rolled over on a back road with kids inside.

“They’re alright, thank God!” said Show. “It was really strong, every pole was snapped off up along Fairmont Road.”

Jennifer Williams is a family friend of the seven people who were living inside the trailer that rolled on Fairmont.

“The two boys did have some concerning injuries,” said Williams. “It looks like it literally picked up (the trailer) and rolled it over. It’s sitting on top of their trucks, like the truck is literally part of the house right now inside of it. It’s on it’s roof.”

Operations manager at Yogi Bear Jellystone Park, Tracy Czambel, said there were 145 campers Thursday night into Friday morning, meaning roughly 500 people were on the campground during the storm.

“As soon as I heard the winds pick up, I got up, got dressed and headed over. But I couldn’t get through (at first) because of the trees, so I had to go back and get a golf cart,” said Czambel.

Czambel said everyone was accounted for and three people had to go to the hospital with minor injuries. A tree fell on a tent that a mother and child were staying in and another tree fell on a trailer with at least one person inside.

“It was a sickening feeling because you worry about your families in here camping and that’s the first thing you want to do is make sure everybody is safe and sound,” Czambel said.

Around 5 a.m., many local Mill Run residents got their own chainsaws and went out to the aftermath to try and clear a path for emergency vehicles to get through.

“Imagine (an) ambulance needs to get through, so definitely wanted to help,” said J.T. Smith, who was helping clear downed trees. “Just up in the mountains, everybody wants to help each other out so we just hopped in and knew what needed to be done.”

“People jump on it, they’ll help. They’ll help all the time, we get a great response fromt he local people helping,” said Smith.

There was no initial word on how long it may take to repair the damage.

The National Weather Service says it has confirmed a tornado of at least EF-2 intensity touched down in Fayette County overnight, with winds greater than 110 mph.

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