A Texas teen who survived being tossed around in his pickup by a tornado is being given a new truck. A viral video making its rounds last week shows a red Chevrolet Silverado pickup getting rolled over and spun around by a tornado in Elgin, Texas. At the end of the 30 second clip which has been viewed almost 7-million times, the truck is blown back upright and then amazingly drives off.
On Saturday, the driver of the red pickup, 16-year-old Leon Riley, was given a brand new 2022 cherry red Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT All Star Edition. The truck and $15-thousand in cash were a gift from Chevrolet and the dealership Bruce Lowrie Chevrolet in Fort Worth. “We are thankful Riley is safe, commend his driving skills during a frightening situation, and our hearts are with other families in Texas that have been affected by these storms,” the company said in a statement posted on social media.
It’s been a whirlwind week for the teen (pun intended.) He was headed home from interviewing for a new job at Whataburger when the incident occurred. So now Riley has a new job, a new pickup, and he’s been getting a lot of attention at school, where classmates have nicknamed him “Tornado Boy.” But the teen is guided by a philosophy. "You have to keep pushing through them and hopefully better things come," he says.