Couple finds 20ft beam smashed through car windshield

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Among the damage across the metro over the weekend, one couple walked out to a huge wooden beam piercing through their car's front windshield.

Roger and Debbie Mandrell took shelter when they woke up to a severe storm throwing debris into their home.

A tornado swept through their neighborhood. Once it passed, they thought the worst of it was over, only to step outside and see the destruction left behind.

"Scary, it was scary, and we weren't expecting it," Roger Mandrell said.

It was a terrifying moment for the Mandrells as a tornado ripped through their south Oklahoma City neighborhood, destroying everything in its path.

"My phone went off, tornado warning," Debbie Mandrell said. "I jumped up out of bed and our house was shaking and you could hear stuff hitting the house. I woke him up, I said, we're in a tornado, we're in a tornado. I just started praying."

The couple hunkered down for what they say was the longest 45 seconds of their life.

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Once it passed, they were worried about the damage it had done, but never expected to see a 20-foot beam through their car's windshield.

"I was like, wow, I'm glad no one was in it," Debbie said. "That's what I thought."

Their RV suffered a similar fate.

"Tt was scary, very, very scary," Debbie said.

They took the beam out of the car, and while we were there, a tow truck came and picked up the undrivable vehicle.

"It was one of those those hard moments, you know," Roger said.

While they are devastated about losing their car, they are thankful to be okay.

"That can be replaced," Roger said. That's material stuff, because this girl here and her brother, everybody's safe, so, yeah, we're good."

The couple hopes insurance will cover most of the damage.