Tornado Touches Down in LaPorte County
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Tornado Touches Down in LaPorte County
LaPorte County
A tornado swings through LaPorte County-injuring a police officer, knocking over buildings and trees, and leaving a mess.
Reporter: Alana Greenfogel
Email Address: Alana.Greenfogel@WNDU.COM
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The tornado lasted only minutes, but it left hours worth of cleaning up.

Trees, trees, and more trees. Many were knocked over and uprooted--blocking roads, driveways and making a mess of front and backyards.

"It's a jungle, just a mess," says Jim Lewinksi, whose driveway was completely blocked by tree branches and trunks.

Just down the road, a barn collapsed.

But possibly the most incredible story from this tornado has to do with a detective in the sheriff's department.

Sheila Mireles was in a meeting when she heard about the tornado. Her co-workers tell us she said, 'I'm going to go try to find it and see what's going on.'

Now the joke is, she found it alright.

Mireles' car was picked up by the wind, spun in the air, and thrown about 150 feet, landing on its nose.

She is being treated at LaPorte County Hospital for bruises and bumps. Officials from the sheriff's department are calling her "EXTREMELY lucky."

Just take a look at the car to understand that. It's completely smashed.

Besides Mireles, no one else is reported injured.

Power was out for about 1,000 homes earlier, but it's now back on.

Two things on the residents' minds now--time to clean up, but first, call the insurance company.
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