JOHNSTON, R.I. (WHDH) - Crews are cleaning up after a tornado raced through Johnston, Rhode Island on Friday morning and its an effort that they expect will take some time to clear.
Randy Williams was driving on Interstate 295 near the Johnston-Smithfield line when a funnel appeared on the road.
“It hit the backside of my car, which changed the path I was going and moved me over a lane,” he recalled.
Another car in Johnston was actually picked up and moved as the twister spun through the area.
David Danella, an off-duty firefighter who witnessed it, said, “Her car was in the middle of its cyclone winds. I guess that’s what you call them. It picked her car up and spun her around like that and then just dropped it back down.”
SKY7-HD flew over Highland Memorial Park Cemetery in Johnston, where a tornado touched down just before 9 a.m.
Some 20 acres of the area was destroyed.
Merill Brouchau took shelter in her basement, and when she came out she found her patio swing in her swimming pool.
“Crashing, booming, it was terrifying,” she recalled.
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