GRETNA, La. — When Michael Willis was running errands Wednesday on the Westbank, the sky got dark
“Scariest thing in my life, I’m not going to lie,” Willis said. “Normally you can see something coming. I promise you I didn't hear anything or see anything.”
While gathering supplies for a weekend toy giveaway through his organization H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Endure), Willis found himself in the path of a tornado.
“This is where I was at,” Willis said, as he sat in the driver’s seat of his black Chevy SUV.
While sitting in his SUV on Franklin Street in Gretna, he says the tornado lifted him up.
“It happened fast. I've never been inside a tornado before,” Willis said. “I'm looking at wood, buildings, all in the same spin, like it's spinning with me and then it just slung me out.”
Willis says he immediately started praying and didn’t know if he was safe.
“I thought it was coming back. The power wires, everything was everywhere and then is started raining hard,” Willis said.
That's when he started recording a video of himself while still sitting in his SUV. Looking at the damage, he knows how lucky he is.
“I tried to play hard for a second and then I balled up like ‘Naw, God I ain't ready to go right now,’” Willis said.
Debris smashed through his windshield and busted his passenger window. He says the tinting on the glass stopped anything from hitting him.
“This tint saved my life,” Willis said, holding up his busted passenger window.
Willis said he called 911 but was told it'd be a while before crews could get to him, so he took his SUV to his daughter’s house in Algiers.
“I drove it with my head out the window,” Willis said.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.