‘Extremely terrified:’ Metro Atlanta man working in Nashville saw deadly tornado touch down

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Families across the south are cleaning up after strong storms swept through over the weekend, including a deadly tornado that touched down near Nashville.

The same storm then caused damage in Georgia.

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Sterlin Sanders is from metro Atlanta but is in Nashville for work. He said he was driving when he saw the tornado on Saturday.

He pulled out his phone to record what he saw. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

“I saw a funnel forming and then all of a sudden, boom. I saw this gigantic explosion and the tornado literally caught fire. I got all of the footage. I have to admit, Larry I was extremely terrified being in that situation,” said Sanders.

Sanders said he had to get away.

“I got underneath a bridge with some other cars. The wind started to pick up. I want to say we were right outside the funnel,” said Sanders.

Early Sunday morning, Georgia was also hit by the same storm system.

Channel 2′s Larry Spruill was live on WSB Tonight at 11 p.m. where several trees were down in a Marietta neighborhood along Timber Creek Lane Southwest.

A tree landed on several cars in a driveway and another tree fell on top of Robert Orem’s home.

Orem said the tree landed in his 14-year-old son’s bedroom.

“I hear this loud boom and it shook the whole house, and I started screaming for the kids you know, ‘Get down here! Get down here now! Get down here, let’s go’,” said Orem.

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Orem said his family did get out of the house, but it was a scary situation for everyone.

“It’s to the point now where I’m afraid to even be in an area that has a tree close enough to a house. Nobody should have to go through that. Nobody should have to walk into a bedroom wondering if their child is still alive,” said Orem.

Orem’s son only had minor scratches.

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