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EF-1 tornado confirmed in Salem, IL; dozens of homes damaged

Published

2 years ago

April 3, 2023

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SALEM, Ill. – National Weather Service officials confirmed that an EF-1 tornado ripped through Salem, Illinois, a small town of nearly 7,500 residents located nearly an hour and a half east of St. Louis City.

A twister formed around 8:11 p.m. and lasted nearly seven minutes. NWS reports it delivered gusts up to 105 miles per hour with nearly a six-mile path length and a 250-yeard path width.

RELATED – Trees topple St. Louis cars, slam through Imperial home during storms

According to NWS, no deaths or injuries were reported from Salem’s tornado. However, damage is widespread, especially in the southern part of the town.

“It was very scary,” said Salem resident Jeff Gray. “It happened so quick. I took my dog, and we went to the bathroom [for cover].”

Salem mayor Nic Farley tells FOX 2 the twister ripped off roofs of many homes and businesses. Nearly a dozen homes are seriously damaged, several more dozens suffered moderate damage, and a few storage units were ripped apart. Part of one storage unit unexpectedly ended up in a tree.

“We had three storage units that were heavily damaged,” said Farley. “Half of one is completely missing, and when I say missing, we found it, but it’s three blocks over.”

One day later, Gray is still shaken up. His home on Jefferson Street fell in the direct path of the tornado.

“That whole side of the garage is gone,” said Gray. “I had a two-car carport. It moved it like two blocks over and tore up my roof.”

Despite the devastation, Farley and Gray are thankful no one from the community was hurt.

“There’s been a lot of damage in our areas, but I can’t say enough about our first responders and just our community in whole, how we’re banding together,” said Farley.

“Everybody’s fine. That’s the main take. God is with us,” said Gray.

Farley says that Salem city officials are working to set up a foundation to support residents hit hard by the storm. Follow Mayor Farley’s Facebook page for future updates on that effort.

Due to the damage, Salem, Illinois, is under a curfew from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through April 3.

Salem and much of the St. Louis region was under a tornado watch for several hours Friday, and some brief warnings were issued around parts of Missouri and Illinois. The storm system also posed significant thunderstorm and hail threats.

NWS has not confirmed any other tornadoes in the St. Louis region at this time, though reported some scattered instances of wind damage in some municipalities west of St. Louis County.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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