Following an EF-3 tornado in Streator, Illinois, last Friday, with estimated wind speeds between 136 and 165mph, storm chaser and video journalist Scott Lasker helped rescue a man trapped beneath the rubble of his destroyed home. After filming the tornado and its aftermath, he says he heard a woman calling for help and soon discovered that her husband was pinned under a heavy door from the collapsed house.
Video footage from the incident shows the man telling bystanders that he thinks his leg might be broken. Lasker attempts to lift the door and hands his camera to the woman while helping with the rescue. Two police officers arrive shortly afterward and join the effort, successfully freeing the trapped homeowner.
Lasker later said he had never before been involved in helping a storm victim during one of his assignments covering severe weather. Despite the significant damage to the area, Streator Mayor Tara Bedei says there were no deaths reported in the city of about 12-thousand residents.