Tornadoes kill 3 near Indian Lake, hit Miami County
‘Things just started flying apart ... shocked we’re still alive.’
At least three people were killed, several were injured, and a huge number of homes were destroyed Thursday night as a storm system spawned a series of suspected tornadoes across eastern Indiana and western Ohio.
The worst-hit area in Ohio was the south shore of Indian Lake in Logan County — mainly the towns of Lakeview, Midway and Russells Point. Logan County Sheriff Randy Dodds confirmed three people died there, and search crews were still working Friday, in trailer parks and neighborhoods that were pulverized. About 25 people were treated for mostly broken bones and internal injuries at the hospital in Bellefontaine.
Closer to Dayton, a likely tornado smashed several houses in Miami County, near the towns of Bradford and Covington, west of Piqua. Jeff Slattery said he and his wife Julie were eating dinner and watching weather updates when they heard loud rumbling heading their way, and quickly jumped in their bathtub in Covington.
“After that, all hell broke loose,” Slattery said Friday morning on Rangeline Road, against the backdrop of a shattered house and roaring chainsaws. “Things just started flying apart ... shocked we’re still alive, quite honestly.”
The storm started near Selma and Winchester, Indiana, where dozens of people were injured. It entered Ohio near Union City and marched across Darke County to Bradford, damaging homes on Ohio 571 and Horatio Harris Creek Road, among other sites. Darke and Miami counties had some injuries, but no fatalities, according to their sheriff ’s offices.