An 8-year-old boy was sucked into one of Alabama's tornadoes early Wednesday when it tore through his home, leaving him with only cuts and bruises after being carried almost 30 feet off the ground, the Daily Mail reports.
Reginald Jr. Epps, known as RJ, was at his home in Coaling, Ala., with his father Reginald, 35, mother Danielle, 36, and brothers James and Joel, ages 6 and 4, when the 200 mph tornado swept through.
The senior Epps told the Daily Mail the family was watching television when they heard the tornado coming.
"I had just got some flashlights for me and my wife and we were all in the kitchen when we heard the wind pick up. Then the windows at the back of the house blew out, it was like they popped," Epps said.
"I shouted at RJ to get up and come with us to the bedroom, but when we made it in this roar started. I looked up and the walls and the roof came away and RJ flew off with them."
The storm passed on after around 30 seconds, but not before leaving the Epps' home destroyed. After it settled, Epps said he saw RJ walking over from a distance.
"When it settled down I could see this dark silhouette walking toward us and realized it was RJ," Epps said. "I couldn't believe it."
RJ, his brother James and their father were all taken to the hospital, and the children were released that day with only cuts and bruises.
Meanwhile, the boys' father is currently being treated for a punctured lung, three fractured ribs and cuts and bruises. His wife, Danielle, says that RJ is traumatized and is not sleeping.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
