Cars Are Deadly During Tornadoes

[weatherbud]

Nearly half those killed by tornado over the weekend were in cars.

SENECA, Mo. - Nearly half of the 21 people killed by a tornado that smashed parts of Oklahoma and Missouri over the weekend died in cars, troubling experts who say vehicles are among the worst places to be during a twister.

"It's like taking a handful of Matchbox cars and rolling them across the kitchen floor," said Sgt. Dan Bracker of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, surveying the damage in Newton County near the Oklahoma line, the hardest hit area. "This is devastating."

Among those killed were a woman who took shelter in a broken-down car outside someone's home; three people who were rushing to reach a relative's house in their car; and four family members — Rick Rountree, his wife, his 13-year-old son, and his mother-in-law — who were in a van on the way to a friend's wedding when the twister, packing winds of 170 mph, struck the Seneca area on Saturday night.

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