MAURY COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — The violent storm that hit Maury County on Wednesday left a major mark.
According to a preliminary report, an EF3 tornado with 140mph winds touched down in Columbia and Spring Hill.
Tennessee Highway Patrol and Maury County EMA locked down neighborhoods on Wednesday night and Thursday morning so first responders could visit every house and make sure people were safe.
According to Governor Bill Lee, roughly 100 homes were damaged in the county. Of those, 40 homes had significant damage.
We know the damage is so widespread. If you have a storm-related story email Hannah.McDonald@newschannel5.com.
Some neighborhoods in rough shape include Lasea Road, Kedron Road, Blackburn Lane, Clara Mathis Road, and Joe Brown Road.
Off Lasea Road, in the distance, a sturdy high-voltage transmission line was bent by the forceful winds. According to TVA, a total of six of their towers were destroyed or damaged by the tornado.
Debris, including power lines, trapped people out of their neighborhood as well as inside.
Not being able to get to people who potentially needed to be rescued was tough.
“Just hollering for help... [and] we couldn’t get to them. We couldn’t cross the power lines, ya know? It’s just hard knowing that we were trying and we just couldn’t get there,” said Ricky Oliver.
Oliver is a home builder in the area. On Thursday, he was set to move into a fifth wheel on a property on Lasea Road to be close to the construction. The trailer looked totaled.
“I got my guitar in there and a couple things… They were supposed to turn the power on here today,” he said.
According to county officials, at least one person was killed in the storm. They said Cheryl Lovett died near Blackburn Lane. At least five others including a teenager had injuries that needed medical attention.
