Howell man's car swept into tornado while driving to work, survives with minor injuries

Lee Williams, of Howell, was on his way to his job last Thursday night when his car suddenly went airborne.

A swirling tornado had lifted his 2020 Chevy Equinox into the sky, spinning, rolling and — finally — tossing it into the median along Interstate 96 like a toy car.

Incredibly, Williams managed to walk away with only minor injuries.

How it all unfolded

"The rain got heavier and heavier as I went, and being in Michigan — that's nothing new — you just keep pushing on," said Williams. "Then I slowed down to maybe 50 miles an hour, and it started getting real bad. I saw the crosswind and all that kind of stuff, and I could feel the car moving around and I said, 'OK, this is getting a little bit worse than just a thunderstorm.'"

Williams continued slowing down his vehicle, as the rain and fog made it difficult to see anything. Now driving 25-30 mph, Williams said he saw a white cloud in front of him; with his headlights reflecting off the fog, it resembled a "bright white wall of water."

He now assumes he drove into the EF-2 tornado that hit the Williamston and Webberville area in Ingham County, or at least its winds.

This tornado was the first to be confirmed in the state following last week's storms, with gusts reaching 111 mph, according to officials. It flipped a couple dozen vehicles, including tractor-trailers, along I-96. In the storm, one person was killed.

More: 7 tornadoes strike in 1 night, the most ever during August in Michigan

"The car just went off. It kind of went sideways, and then picked up and I just held on. I knew I was going for a ride," he said. "It just went up and started tumbling around. I could feel it going back, forward, around. ... And I started thinking 'Oh my goodness, I'm actually in a tornado,' and didn't know where I was going to land, or when it was going to stop or anything like that. I was just thinking about my wife and kids and saying, you know, 'I sure hope I get to see them again.' "

Next thing he knew, Williams' car hit the ground rolling.

"I don't know which side hit first — front, back, side. I tried grabbing the steering wheel and I hit so hard, I lost my grip. Then tried regaining and I hit again. I just said 'nope.' I tucked my arms in and waited for it to stop and wondered how long it's going to last where I'm going to land. Am I'm going to be out in the field? In the trees? I didn't really know where I was going."

The car finally stopped, crashed against a median. It was upside down and in the middle of the highway. Williams waited to see if anything else was coming, but nothing did. Luckily, he had survived but lost all of his belongings and means of getting home, including his phone.

"The car didn't move for a little bit, so I unbuckled my seat belt I started looking around for my phone inside the cabin. Luckily, the interior lights stayed on for whatever reason, but I couldn't find my phone," he said. "I couldn't find anything that was in my car. I had my work laptop, my personal laptop, a couple jackets, work clothes — nothing was in the car."

Without even thinking or trying to open his car door, he crawled out of the driver's window and lay in a nearby ditch on I-96 until the rain and winds slowed down.

"At the time, just my shoulder hurt, but the adrenaline was going so much I didn't know what else was going on," he said.

Getting help from a stranger

Once things slightly cleared up, Williams stood up, and started walking along the median toward headlights in the distance. He came across an overturned truck and checked on the driver, who was OK and in the process of receiving help.

Soon after, another driver stopped to check on Williams. He tried calling 911 for him but all circuits were busy, Williams said. The driver then encouraged him to get in his car, even though Williams was drenched from the rain.

"He was very persistent," Williams said. "Just a great guy. I ended up getting in the car. ... He dialed my wife. I told her and she was in tears because she had gotten an alert for the tornado, and then looked online and saw where it was going and tried calling me and my phone went straight to voicemail. So, she knew something was going on right away because I never don't answer my phone or texts from her. Always do."

He reassured his wife that he is OK and told her to stay safe at home with their 4-month-old baby. As they were driving, Williams spotted the police and an ambulance. He walked over, was treated and then sent to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing for a thorough check-up and X-rays.

"Luckily, no broken bones or anything like that," he said. "I have a shoulder injury, a twisted ankle and bumps and bruises and scrapes and cuts and stuff all over the place."

Williams does not know how high up he and his car went, but he doesn't think it was too far off the ground.

"Judging by the car, I feel like there would have been more damage if it went way up in the air," he said. However, most of his belongings were lost or destroyed, except for his personal laptop, which was found "a couple hundred feet away from the car."

The laptop was returned to Williams, which he is grateful for because it holds photos with his brother, who died in 2016.

Williams is a self-employed robotics engineer. He is currently unable to work due to his injuries, especially his shoulder, yet he can still see how lucky he was to survive.

"I don't think I'm the one that had the worst injuries by any means. I wish everybody else that was involved is good and God protected them," Williams said. "I know there's even deaths among them. I just pray for their families."

Contact Nour Rahal: nrahal@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Howell man gets swept up by tornado, survives with minor injuries