Memory of tornado two years ago still fresh for Linden man
Bruce Raynor, of Linden, is still recovering from the physical and emotional wounds he received when he was pinned under a roof two years ago when a swarm of tornadoes roared through North Carolina, killing 24 people.
Posted — Updated
Eighteen were declared disaster areas, including Wake, Johnston and Cumberland counties. Twenty-four people died.
It's in the Cumberland County town of Linden that Bruce Raynor is still recovering from his injuries.
"I'm still not able to do a whole lot," the 45-year-old said Tuesday, the second anniversary of the storms. "I'm just glad to be alive."
The storm left Raynor with a broken neck and a broken shoulder. He was also blinded in his right eye.
He still has not been able to return to his job as a crane operator.
The last thing he remembers about April 16, 2011, was standing outside his parents' home off McBryde Road.
"I had gotten out of the truck and was trying to close the truck door, but because of the pressure, I couldn't close it.," Raynor said. "But I didn't know it at the time."
But then, in a flash, he did. It was a tornado. He ran but not far enough.
The wind blew the roof off his parents' house and hurled it on top of him.
"The next thing I know, it's about five days later," Raynor said. "I wake up in the hospital."
Today, his parents' house has been rebuilt, but there are still memories of that day.
The garages where he and his father worked on old cars are still in tatters.
There are also emotional scars. Whenever there's a thunderstorm, or any rumbling, Raynor feels the flashback.
"Hearing Fort Bragg do their maneuvers – it rattles the windows, and I'll get up and look out the door wondering what's going on," Raynor said. "What's coming next? I'm just glad my parents didn't have to go through a funeral."
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
