Featured Image Credit: National Geographic/KFOR
Topics: US News
Claire Reid
Father and son storm chasers died alongside their long-term partner after the car they were in was picked up and thrown half a mile by a tornado.
In June 2013, Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul Samaras, 24, and Carl Young, 45, died in El Reno, Oklahoma after a tornado travelling at speeds of up to 165mph picked up the vehicle they were inside and sent it somersaulting through the air.
According to officials, Tim’s body was found strapped inside the vehicle where it landed, while the other two men’s remains were found half a mile to the east and half a mile to the west.
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The three men were experienced storm-chasers, with Samaras having previously appeared on Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers.
He specialised in using customised scientific instruments to measure storms, and once measured the largest pressure drop ever recorded, the Washington Post reported.
Just moments before the tragedy, the men were heard crying out over the highway patrol radio.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph heard their chilling final words from the men.
She told USA Today: “They were screaming, ‘We're going to die, we're going to die.’
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“There was just no place to go. There was no place to hide.”
Images show the badly damaged Chevrolet Cobalt, with Canadian County under-sheriff Chris West telling reporters it looked as though ‘it had gone through a trash compactor’ when it was found.
He told the Washington Post: “The car was probably about 60 to 70 percent of its normal size because it had been pushed and mauled and compacted as it was tumbling down the road. Like wadded up.”
It’s still unclear what the men were doing prior to the accident, but West suggested at the time that they could have been attempting to drive parallel to the twister, which then changed direction or developed a second vortex.
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He added: “We’re never going to know, because they’re not here to tell us.”
In a statement, the Samaras family said: “Tim had a passion for science and research of tornadoes. He loved being out in the field taking measurements and viewing mother nature. His priority was to warn people of these storms and save lives. Paul was a wonderful son and brother who loved being out with his Dad. He had a true gift for photography and a love of storms like his Dad. They made a special team.
"They will be deeply missed. We take comfort in knowing they died together doing what they loved.”