Maury County tornado survivors reflect on deadly storm that struck with little notice

A week removed from the EF-3 tornado, residents in Maury County are continuing to clean up debris. The storm uprooted trees, destroyed homes, and picked up vehicles. But residents are just happy to have each other.

More: 4 Tennessee tornadoes confirmed, with highest winds at 140 mph

Dean Schatz and his wife, Susan, live off Blackburn Lane. The area took a direct hit from the 140-mph storm.

“It got real calm, and I knew the bad is coming real quick,” said Schatz. “And the trees started swaying and dancing.”

Schatz said he didn’t realize bad weather was coming until he spoke to his son, who’s a local firefighter.

“He called us and said, ‘It’s on your way. Get into a secure place,'” said Schatz.

It was then that the Schatzes got into the innermost closet of their home. Meanwhile, around the corner on Lasea Road, Dennis Chunn and his son were doing the same thing.

“I went and looked out this door and seen it coming, and me and my son got under the crawl space under the house and rode it out right there,” Chunn said.

Chunn looked out of their hideout during the storm and saw the winds pushing his trailer and moving one of the smaller buildings around.

Then, suddenly, he couldn’t see anything.

“It got solid, just black. And we just stayed there until it went by, and then when come out … it was a disaster,” Chunn said.

Chunn has a good amount of damage to his home.

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Debris collection begins in the days after the tornado.

On Wednesday, a DirecTV worker was installing new satellite dishes on the property after two dishes had been ripped out of the ground. And in his yard, several trees were cut up and waiting to be removed from the property.

Ryan Ezell lives a mile down Lasea, toward I-65. As the tornado approached, he huddled in a cast iron tub with his wife and two children.

“We figured that was the only thing that was somewhat safe,” said Ezell.

Ezell said he didn’t take shelter until after receiving several texts that a storm was on the way.

“My brother-in-law texted me, ‘Hey, you need to watch out for the weather.’ One of my employees texted me, and then, my mom texted me,” Ezell said. “And then, I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to turn the news on.'”

Once he turned on the TV, he found out he had only a few seconds to take shelter.

“It said a tornado landed in between Lasea Road and the interstate. Well, there’s the interstate, and we’re on Lasea Road,” Ezell said. “We looked out the back door, and you could see the tornado coming right through there — I mean, massive. And it was ripping trees out of the ground, and it turned and came right toward us.”

He said that’s when he decided it was time to get in the tub.

“And man, we were praying, ‘God, please save us. Please protect us, my whole family, young kids.’ Just, ‘God, please help us. Please be with us,'” Ezell said. “And he did. I mean, he saved us. God 100% protected our home. I mean you can see everything. It makes no sense that our house is even here.”

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A tree lays on Ryan Ezell’s home after the tornado.

Their home took on a lot of damage, but he knows it could’ve been worse.

“My son’s ceiling is falling all the way in, and you know, there’s a lot of damage I think structurally,” Ezell said. “But overall, it’s like, man, it could’ve been absolutely devastating. People lost their lives right there.”

Ezell made a gesture toward an empty lot across the street. That’s where 67-year-old Cheryl Lovett was killed by the storm.

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The house Cheryl Lovett lived in with her family.

Dean Schatz knew Lovett as a neighbor and a server at Stan’s Market and Restaurant, where she worked for nearly 40 years. Lovett had retired the morning before the storm hit.

“I used to cut the field for them, and I knew her from Stan’s,” Schatz said. “She’s a wonderful waitress.”

Schatz’s property was also damaged, but he said he feels lucky.

“You know, blessed to be alive,” Schatz said. “And that’s all I can say — just really lucky.”

A GoFundMe page has been created to raise money for Lovett’s family. She is survived by her spouse Jeff Lovett and children Brianne and Nathan Lovett. Brianne’s workplace also started a GoFundMe page.

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Cleanup efforts begin after the tornado.

Recovery efforts

As of Thursday, all power had been restored to residents impacted by the storm.

The Maury County Emergency Management Department is asking residents in need of additional assistance to call the Crisis Clean-Up Hotline at 615-488-1875.

Other tips and resources include:

• If you are unsure of a contractor’s licensure status, you can go to https://search.cloud.commerce.tn.gov/ or call the Maury County Sheriff’s Office.
• If you need resources or have supplies to donate, these local organizations are places to start: New Lasea Church of Christ, The Well, and The Family Center in Columbia.
• If you are in need of mental health crisis assistance, call 931-490-6982.
• If you want to volunteer in the cleanup, the Maury County Emergency Management Department says to check the county’s site here.