A Whirlwind Of A Week: Teen Takes Ride In Tornado, Gets New Chevy From Fort Worth Dealership

Arlington TX

28 March, 2022

5:59 PM

Description

By Bob Francis, Fort Worth Report March 27, 2022 A teen driver, who became a viral sensation after a video of his red truck being swept up and flipped by a tornado near Elgin, received a new truck March 26 from a Fort Worth dealership. Bruce Lowrie Chevrolet handed the keys over to a cherry red 2022 half-ton Chevrolet Silverado All Star Edition, as well as a check for $15,000, to 16-year-old Riley Leon and his family during a ceremony at the dealership, 711 Southwest Loop 820. "I am very grateful," said Leon. "This doesn't happen to a lot of people, and it happened to me." Leon was driving a 2004 red Chevrolet Silverado on Highway 290 on March 21, coming back from a job interview at a Whataburger in Elgin. On the way, a funnel cloud, one of several area tornadoes that day, picked up Leon in his truck, flipped the vehicle on its side and then flipped it upright again. The event was captured on video and went viral shortly afterward. The National Weather Service estimated the tornadoes were in the EF2 range. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.