Posted: 5/22/07
Spring Grove couple survives the Greensburg killer tornado
By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
When the windows blew out of the car, and they were peppered with countless pieces of debris, Dick and Karen Solum of rural Spring Grove thought their time had come. When large cement blocks from an abandoned gas station that was being torn apart by 200 mph winds punched gaping holes in their car, they closed their eyes, clutched each other, and prayed.
"The sound was deafening. I was trying to cover Karen. I felt if someone had to die, it might as well be me. I hollered as loud as I could, ëI love you.í She heard me and told me she loved me too. I really thought we were going to die," recalled Dick.
Two weeks after they survived one of the strongest tornados ever recorded in the U.S., the Solums feel they are very lucky to alive.
They were on their way to visit their daughter in Phoenix and were heading towards Greensburg, Kansas around 10 p.m. Friday, May 4. Listening to a Wichita radio station, they stopped at a gas station near Greensburg. Unaware of the danger that was looming, they headed right into the path of the killer storm.
They rode out the F-5 tornado huddled in the front seat of their car. Their Chrysler 300 was totalled, and the Spring Grove couple sustained a number of injuries. But the most important thing was they survived.
"There werenít any warnings issued on the radio," Karen remembered. "And no one was talking about a storm at the gas station."
As they neared Greensburg, the heavy rainstorm turned to a hailstorm. They thought about stopping, but there really wasnít any cover. Dick figured the hail had already done its damage to the finish of their car. Little did he know what type of carnage was just ahead.
The hailstorm subsided when they entered Greensburg, but the rain was coming down in sheets. It was impossible to see where they were going, so they pulled into an abandoned gas station and parked near the block building.
The winds continued to get stronger. The awning on the building started shaking, and then disappeared. Dick told Karen to crouch down in the front floorboards of the car and shielded her, as the passenger side windows blew out.
"We had to keep our eyes closed. The wind was so strong, and there was so much debris flying around. It would have blinded us," Dick said. He was wearing a short sleeve shirt, and his bare arms were blasted by bits of glass, concrete, and wood splinters, as if shot from a gun.
"I heard several loud bangs, and thought the tires were exploding," Dick continued. "The car was shaking so, and the roar of the storm was so loud, Iím not sure what it was. I was just waiting for a block to come crashing through the windshield."
The back window was next to go. Fortunately, the headliner was pulled from the ceiling up to the front seat, which acted like a shield, as it hung down.
Something struck Karenís arm, causing a deep bruise. Her head was also struck, resulting in a nasty gash requiring stitches. Dick was hit in the face with a large piece of debris, which blackened his eye, and he sustained a long gash on his left arm from his shoulder to his elbow.
The Solums arenít sure how long the storm lasted. It seemed like hours, but was probably about three minutes, according to Dick. The winds died down, but the torrential rains continued for some time.
"It was totally dark. We couldnít see a single light," Karen said. Dazed and disorientated the Spring Grove couple started taking inventory of their bodies. How badly were they hurt? Could they move? Could they walk?
The heard voices. A large pickup had parked near them, seeking protection from the storm. Itís occupants had a tough time getting out of the truck, which was tipped on its side. The Solums were told the twister had flipped the truck over at least two times before it came to rest on the passenger side. The Solumís Chrysler was pointing in the opposite direction.
They heard a baby crying. An infant had ridden the storm out in the truck, along with four adults. The babyís injuries werenít life-threatening. They later learned the child had sustained a mild concussion.
Dick and Karen and the passengers from the pickup ran through the pouring rain in total darkeness to what was left of the sheriffís office. It was pretty much leveled, but a generator was providing lights and they found refuge from the rain in the basement.
The group of survivors were given towels and blankets. Their cuts were bandaged with gauze and masking tape.
It didnít take long before emergency squads from neighboring towns converged on Greensburg. A triage center was set up in a grocery store parking lot. Those requiring immediate medical attention were tended to first. Karenís foot ached. She had injured it when they ran through the dark to the sheriffís office.
A stormchaser from Michigan took pictures of the Solums, which were broadcast on CNN. Several friends and relatives spotted the Solums on TV.
"We tried to call on our cell phone, but all the towers were down," Dick said.
Because of the gash to Karenís head, and her injured foot, she and her husband were loaded into an ambulance. The first injured victims of the killer tornado were transported to Dodge City, but the hospitals were full. So the Solums were taken to Minneola, a town about 40 miles away.
"We were the first victims from Greensburg admitted to the hospital in Minneola," Karen recalled. "We got to the hospital about 2 in the morning. They stitched up my head, x-rayed my foot and we finally got into a warm bed about 4 a.m."
The hospital staff took the Solums wet, bloody clothes to the nursing home laundry. Later that morning, they were given a ride back to Greensburg by the husband of one of the nurses at the Minneola hospital.
"The staff at the Minneola hospital were so good to us," Karen said. "And the fellow who gave us a ride went way out of his way to help us out," Dick added.
When the Solums and their chauffeur neared Greensburg, they couldnít believe their eyes. It had been pitch dark when they were transported to Minneola in the ambulance. They could only conjure up in their minds the extent of the destruction.
"It was unbelievable," Dick said. "There wasnít anything standing. There really isnít any way to describe what we saw other than total and utter destruction. There werenít even any trees left."
The Solums had a difficult time getting through the roadblock set up by law enforcement to keep looters out of town. But after explaining their situation, and providing proper identification, they were allowed to find their totally-trashed car. The car was damaged so severely, Dick couldnít get the trunk open. So he had to pull the back seat out to get their belongings.
The Good Samaritan from Minneola gave the Solums a ride to Dodge City, where they rented a car.
The massive system that spawned more than 140 tornados during that first weekend in May wasnít done yet, however. As the Solums drove south out of Dodge City, a large, dark front loomed in the distance.
"All we could think about was ëoh no, not another one,í" Dick said. "But we were able to drive out of it. When we saw blue sky to the south, we both breathed a sign of relief."
The Solumís unforgettable journey to Phoenix had one more twist. As they crossed from Texas into New Mexico, they were greeted with desert landscape covered with snow.
"That was really something," Dick said. "Running into snow that far south in May."
The Solumís grandchildren were all full of questions when Grandma and Grandpa finally arrived in sunny Arizona. Dick was sporting quite a shiner, his arms were all scraped and scabbing, and Karenís head was stitched, an ugly bruise covered her upper arm, and her foot was in a temporary cast.
"Luckily, Iím not going to have surgery on my foot," she said looking down at the blue cast. "Iím beginning to put weight on it now, and hopefully, Iíll be able to get rid of these things soon," she added, as she set her crutches aside.
"The crazy thing is if we just would have left 10 minutes earlier, or not stopped for this or that, or spent a little more time somewhere along the way, we wouldnít have been involved in that storm. Just 10 minutes either way," Dick said. "But I guess we were suppose to. Something like that sure makes you think about things. We said a lot of prayers during that storm, and have said many more since. We were just very lucky."
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