David Wengierski’s home at 7134 Brookshire Circle was devastated by the tornado Oct. 20. Photography by Lisa Kresl.
The neighbors on Brookshire Circle came together today in the wake of devastation. Dave Manigold wielded his chainsaw early this morning so neighbors could drive through the street. Other neighbors went door to door to comfort one another and ask how they could help.
David Wengierski at 7134 Brookshire Circle has lived in his house since 2005, and now it’s destroyed. The home was built in 1968. “It was like getting hit by a freight train,” he says. His sons, wife and dogs took shelter downstairs, and he was in the upstairs bathroom when the tornado hit. “It ripped off our entire metal roof. It’s gone and probably the house is too.” Next steps? “We’ll take our personal belongings today. The insurance adjusters are on the way,” Wengierski says. “We’re lucky to be alive. We’ll build back. We’ll build something.”
Neighbor J.J. Barto, at 7107 Brookshire Circle, was terrified during the tornado because he and his wife were driving home and couldn’t get to their three teenage sons. The three boys are students at the Covenant School. One sheltered in a bathroom, Chase was trapped in the garage and the other was out buying frozen yogurt. Barto’s family backyard shows the path of the tornado’s destruction along Royal Lane.
Barto’s neighbor, Sue, wasn’t so lucky. Her roof ended up in Barto’s backyard. Barto explains that she was going to hide in the bathroom but at the last minute she decided to take cover by the chimney instead. Look at the house now and you see the bathroom is destroyed.
The good news is that Barto has three sons, and they are helping all of their neighbors clean up after the devastation.
A neighbor on Brookshire Circle was about to take shelter in her downstairs bathroom, but decided instead to take cover near her chimney. The bathroom was destroyed.
