Iowa Trooper Survives Tornado in Car, Fixes Window, Helps Victims

On Friday, a tornado hit a police car in Iowa, which was very scary for a state trooper. However, he didn’t let that stop him. He quickly fixed the car using whatever materials he could find and hurried to assist others who were affected by the tornado.

“Trooper Dustin Pieken was caught in a tornado and debris smashed through the window of his patrol car near Minden,” the Iowa State Patrol shared on social media. “He used his creativity to cleverly make use of whatever was available nearby to keep going during his night shift, helping the victims of the devastating tornado.”

The tornado ripped off roofs from houses, broke trees into pieces, and moved a two-story home 20 feet away from where it was built. Pieken’s car was hit by roof shingles, walls of homes, and trees, but luckily only one window was damaged. From the photo, it is clear that some others did crack.

According to the ISP’s Facebook page, Pieken quickly searched through the trunk and found plastic sheeting, tape, and cardboard to fix the damage. This allowed them to make it to Minden, the town that was hit directly by the storm. He visited each house to see how people were doing.

“I’m glad you’re okay. “Thank you for continuing to take care of the storm victims,” said grateful residents in their responses. “You are someone who is admired and respected for your courage and good deeds!”

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Minden Mayor Kevin Zimmerman was also a survivor of the tornado in the town. He became emotional and started crying during a press conference with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. She had to answer a question from FOX Weather about how the recent tornado damage compared to the damage caused by a violent tornado that hit the town in 1976.

“I want to share with you that there is a mayor here who has experienced the impact of a disaster on his home and two or three businesses in the community. He has gone through this difficult situation twice,” Reynolds said. “Not only is he in charge of the community, but he is also facing personal loss in his business.”

Approximately 180 homes in the town were damaged, with around 40% of them being completely destroyed. “We lost almost every building in town, except for the business part, and our water tower remained standing,” Zimmerman said. “However, at the moment, we are unable to pump water into it. Therefore, we are currently relying on generators for power.”

The governor declared a state of emergency. Some people got injured, and FOX Weather is trying to confirm if anyone died. The mayor said that the early warning system helped the town have enough time to find shelter.

There were a lot of people who wanted to help clean up and fix things in the town on Saturday. There were so many volunteers that officials had to tell some of them they couldn’t help. “I hope they understand,” the mayor said. “We simply don’t have enough room for everyone.”