WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The family of a Washington County man who was killed in Friday's tornado shares their story, and the moment the tornado sucked them up and out of the home where they were living.
Friday, May 30, was the worst day of Stoney and Tabitha Hills' lives after an EF-2 tornado ripped through Washington County and right into the home.
"We go through the laundry room and I hear 'shhhh.' I seen the doors shake and it was outside the house. The tornado came and I got on my wife and held her and we went up in the air, upside down," explains Stoney Hill, the cousin of Friday's tornado victim.
The couple slammed into a vehicle's windshield while inside the vortex, and a minute later, they were thrown back onto what was once the home. "I was sitting their gasping for air and Jesus came to me and gave me air."
The tornado didn't just take the home where they were living, but their cousin, 48-year-old Ronnie Hill, who woke them as the storm approached.
"Everybody know him and loved him. He was just a super guy once he got off of his drugs," said Hill.
Stoney says Ronnie had been thrown two football fields and died instantly.
Ronnie was a recovering drug addict who was about four years sober. He helped others get clean, including Stoney, who has been sober for 90 days.
"I'm gonna stay clean. I'm gonna do everything to keep me alive," said Hill. "I wanna help people. I wanna reach out to people and get them people- the users, get them in rehab."
The couple is recovering at the UK Hospital. Stoney has head injuries, a back injury, and broken ribs. Plus, he is on oxygen to help him breathe.
Tabitha has broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken ankle, and bruises. "There ain't nothing left there no more. It's all every bit of flat. It's gone. Everything's gone."
A Gofundme has been created to help the Hill family during this time as they have lost everything.
