MADISON COUNTY, Ohio — As a deputy in Madison County, Sgt. Travis Schenck likes to be close by when people might need help.
He was patrolling Route 40 early Wednesday morning, keeping a close eye on tornado sightings, hoping to be in the right place to help after the storm passed.
“I just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time and realized I was driving right into it,” Schenck said. “We are always trying to get close to where an event is happening so that if people need assistance, we are available to assist them right away and I got a little too close.” said.
He called into dispatch and reported he was caught in the middle of the tornado.
“It picked my car up a couple of different directions at a couple different times, the car got very light at one point I thought it was gonna roll over. My tires spun a couple of times. Somehow I managed to make my way through and get to the other side,” he said.
Schenck said it was “very loud” and he could see debris spinning around him.
“Just dark, very gray you can see obvious wind directions it was one way then another. A lot of objects, it was almost like a wall of objects, it looks like a dark cloud, smoke you don’t see much,” he said.
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 tornado came through Madison County just before 5 a.m. The tornado hit east of London, continuing northeast, leaving a path of damage, ending south of West Jefferson. Four homes were destroyed, and many others were left with damage and downed trees. Power was still out for many residents on Wednesday.
Sheriff John Sweeney said thankfully no injuries were reported in the county.
“It is a good eye opener for residents when they hear those sirens to make sure they get centrally located or a lower level of a house to take safety,” Sweeney said.
Schenck has been working at the sheriff’s office for a decade but said Wednesday morning will go down as one of the more terrifying incidents in his career. Still, after he escaped the storm, he continued in his patrol car to help with the storm response.
“Once it was over for me, there were other people living those moments that I needed to get to,” he said.