An Arizona man was swept up by a tornado in a scene similar to one in the movie The Wizard of Oz, but miraculously survived.
Artem, who didn’t share his last name, told Arizona’s Family that a trip to the grocery store became terrifying after he encountered a violent whirlwind in Heber.
Artem says he was heading home from the grocery store while riding a bike when unexpected winds gradually progressed.
Artem told Arizona’s Family that the wind suddenly went from a breeze to ‘something he couldn’t fight.’
‘The wind came and flipped me around to go the other way. The force was just getting more and more,’ Artem said.
Artem then said his bicycle lifted from his hands due to the tornado.
‘The next thing you know, the bike is flying; at that point, I got off the bike, it just flew out my hands,’ he said.
Artem told Arizona’s Family that a trip to the grocery store became deadly after encountering a lethal whirlwind in Heber
In a shocking turn of events, an Arizona man was swept up by a tornado in a scene similar to the movie The Wizard of Oz, but miraculously survived
Moments later, Artem said, the wind began throwing him around. ‘Stuff was hitting me like on the back and on the neck; it threw me in the mud, and I tumbled.’
Emergency personnel rushed Artem to the hospital.
Artem said he was completely covered in mud when he arrived at the hospital, where he was given a neck brace after a CT scan.
Physicians told Artem that he hadn’t broken any bones and he was free to go home.
‘I was so sore for the first two days, and just in shock, I couldn’t sleep,’ Artem said.
A local charity group, Amigos Brotherhood Charities, located Artem after the incident and offered to donate money that would go toward a fund for his bike, which was shattered by the twister.
