Tornado survivor says he and wife escaped serious injury by seconds
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NEWNAN, Georgia (WGCL) — The Newnan community is in recovery mode after a violent, EF-4 tornado ripped apart homes, tossed trees, smashed cars, and claimed the life of at least one person.
John McGee knows he and his wife, Lalla, are lucky to be alive after the tornado tore through Coweta County Friday morning, largely impacting Newnan.
“It’s just unbelievable how quickly it happened,” McGee said. “Twenty seconds later and I would have been digging [my wife] out from under the rubble.
The couple owns a home in downtown Newnan. Lalla had already gone to bed for the night. However, McGee said something told him to wake her up. As soon as his wife’s feet hit the floor, the 68-year-old said a large oak tree crashed into their bedroom.
“The tree fell directly over our bed,” McGee said. “If we had not jumped out of bed, it would’ve hit both of us and directly on top of her. It makes you think you might have someone looking after you.”
Five miles northeast, in the Shenandoah community, Linda Cheek was quick to check on her neighbor, Carol. The 86-year-old lives alone and didn’t have her hearing aids in as the storm hit. Still, she made it to the hallway before several trees fell on her home, trapping her inside until firefighters arrived
“She said, ‘All I wanted to do was live in this house until I die,’” Cheek recalled. “I said, ‘Ms. Carol, you ain’t going nowhere. They going to replace this house.”
Amid the crushed homes and vehicles, the mangled wires and piling debris, groups roamed the streets passing out food and water, offering help to those cleaning up.
“We got each other’s back,” said one volunteer carrying a cooler down the street. “We’re here to help. No matter who you are, we got each other’s backs.”
Gov. Brian Kemp is scheduled to tour tornado damage in Newnan Saturday morning.
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