Riley Leon, a Junior at a charter school in Austin, was on his way home from a job interview at Whataburger in a red Silverado and had to make several U-turns due to heavy rain, when his truck was picked up by the tornado, the teen told CNN.
Riley said he landed in the middle of the road. “When everything stopped, I drove off to the side of the road to get out of the way,” he told CNN. Riley then called his mother to tell her what had happened.
“I called my mom. I was like: ‘Mom, the tornado took me,'” Riley said, adding that his mother initially thought Riley was mistaken and had perhaps experienced a broken mirror or headlight. When she arrived on the scene, however, she quickly realized the gravity of the situation. “She was surprised,” Riley said.” She was like ‘You’re a blessing that you’re here.'”
Around 30 minutes after the accident, Riley’s brother showed him the now-viral video of the incident. “It’s a blessing to be here honestly,” the teen told CNN.
The new truck will be presented to Riley and his family at a Chevrolet dealership in Fort Worth on Saturday. He will start his new job at Whataburger on Monday, Riley told CNN.
