Man Survives Tornado

CANTON—It was like something taken straight from a Hollywood movie but certainly something that Canton resident Tim Ellis can only describe as a miracle.

With word of a strong thunderstorm moving into the area Wednesday afternoon, Chick’s Chevron owner Terri Ellis had headed home, her husband Tim was going to follow.

"I had already started home and when I turned on the radio I heard there was a storm coming," Mr. Ellis said. "I looked outside and saw it was blue and looked bad."

Mr. Ellis said he decided to drive back to the service station to put in his vintage Chrysler car.

"I noticed by the time I got to the DPS office that it (sky) was starting to swirl and I noticed the clouds were starting to drop," Mr. Ellis said. "So I pulled in (at Chick’s) and was going to put the Chrysler in the garage. Then it hit and stuff started blowing and I was off the ground and spinning and I hit my head."

Mr. Ellis said he remembered seeing metal in the cloud as he was thrown some 10 feet up off the ground before his head hit the awning of the building which he believes stopped him from being taken any further.

"It felt like the ‘Wizard of Oz’, which used to be my favorite show, but it’s not anymore," he said with a smile.

Mr. Ellis said he didn’t have time to think when he was being tossed about, but he wasn’t afraid to die.

"I believe in God and I know where I’m going when I die," he said. "I feel blessed. It just wasn’t my time."

Mr. and Mrs. Ellis purchased Chick’s Chevron two years ago, from former owners Chick and Joy Chaney who started the store in 1966.

Mrs. Chaney confirmed that this was the first time the store had ever been hit by a storm.

Mrs. Ellis said customers were at the store when the storm hit and they ran to take cover inside the store’s cooler, while her store clerk took cover at a doorway behind the counter away from windows.

"God has another plan," Mrs. Ellis said. "This is devastation, but we are alive and we will deal with all of this."

The Ellis family expressed their thanks to everyone who had stopped to offer help. Mrs. Ellis said they were offered assistance from Fuller’s Towing, Department of Public Safety troopers, Walmart, Church’s Chicken, and she praised her Wallace & Murray insurance agent.

"I can’t say enough about Canton. It is the most wonderful place to live," Mr. Ellis said.

"Everyone wants to help. It’s amazing how people want to help," Mrs. Ellis said.

"By the grace of God we are okay," Mrs. Ellis said. "He has another plan for us."