An Iowa deputy was caught in a white-knuckle situation as he and in his cruiser were in the path of a devastating tornado that tore through a campground last week.
Montgomery County Sheriff's Sgt. Todd Dollen was helping to evacuate the Hacklebarney Campground at around 3 p.m. May 21 as an intense storm with high winds and driving rain swept through the area, the agency stated in a social media post that included footage from the deputy's body camera. The National Weather Service later determined that a tornado had touched down and classified it as an EF-1 with peak winds of roughly 107 mph.
After Dollen had gotten the campers to safety, he tried to reach the campground's equestrian side. That's when the storm pulled down a tree in front of Dollen's cruiser and trapping him in his vehicle as the tornado passed over him.
Fortunately, Dollen was not injured in the storm. The tornado caused widespread damage to the eastern part of the county, but there were no major injuries.
