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Occupied truck lifted during storm in Iowa

ROCKFORD (AP) — A northern Iowa man was driving through a storm when his truck was lifted in the air and carried into a farm field.

Parker Brumm left Rockford on Saturday before the storm became severe to visit a friend in Nora Springs. The 22-year-old said conditions worsened so he decided to turn back, but the storm lifted his vehicle off the ground before he could return home.

“I just closed my eyes and held on,” Brumm said. “I didn’t really see much, just dirt and gravel flying. You could tell you were not on the ground, that’s for sure.”

Rockford volunteer firefighters Corey Johnson, 26, and Jim Moore, 35, were watching the storm that afternoon. Volunteers are sent out during large storms to observe and potentially sound sirens if necessary.

The pair spotted Brumm’s truck in the air and helped him to safety once his truck hit the ground. Moore estimates that the storm carried the truck about 50 feet . The truck was dented on all sides, damaged by hail and missing multiple parts.

The group was unable to return to town, so Johnson took them to his cousin’s house nearby, who is a nurse and helped tend to Brumm’s injuries.

“It didn’t take me very long to realize I was bleeding like a stuck hog,” Brumm said.

The group then took shelter in the basement to wait for the storm to pass.

Johnson said the storm dealt mostly property damage.

The National Weather Service said it can’t confirm tornado activity in Rockford Saturday.

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