Hear his story: Officer caught in Slidell EF-1 tornado lives to tell about it

SLIDELL, La. – A police officer in Slidell, Louisiana managed to not only survive a tornado that swept right by his patrol vehicle, but then turned into a hero by helping a woman trapped in her nearby mangled car in the aftermath. 

Slidell Police Officer Rodney West said he was driving during the severe thunderstorms on Wednesday, but couldn't see anything through the wind-whipped rain. 

He then felt his car lifting.

"Basically, it was zero visibility, and the rain was all over the place," West told a fellow officer in a video posted on the department's Facebook page. "My car was shaking. And when I got to this point, at Kostmayer and Pontchartrain, it kind of lifted a little bit."

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In the video on social media, he still looked shell shocked, but the surprise didn't stop him from acting. As soon as the car stopped shaking, he hit the streets to see where he could help.

"What I saw was just buildings with the windows busted out, cars on their side, other vehicles wrecked, power lines down. Worst case scenario that you could imagine," he said. 

The military vet likened the scene to a war zone. 

"It looks like Baghdad, like Baghdad in 2004," he said. He's since spent 25 years as a police officer after his service. 

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West made sure that everyone was accounted for in a heavily-damaged building and spotted a woman in a car on the side of the road. She said she was in the middle of the intersection when the severe weather hit but said she was fine.

"Then I ran over to the McDonald's over here where there's a car on its side," he continued. "And there was a lady trapped inside of the car, and I checked on her, and I stayed with her until the fire department got there."

With the stormy weather still surrounding town and Tornado Watches and Flash Flood Warnings in effect, he made a plea on social media: "Don't come out, stay at home."

He said power lines were down and nails and sharp debris littered the streets, and conditions were unsafe enough for first responders.

"It's a big thing for us to have to deal with right now and the less people we have to deal with, the better," he said.

Storm rated at least an EF-1 tornado

The National Weather Service later confirmed an EF-1 tornado had touched down in the area . Flooding rains preceded and followed the twister, triggering high water rescues throughout southern Louisiana. 

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Officers from several agencies rushed to the area to set up a command post after the weather calmed. Police, the sheriff's office and fire departments rushed to the town. An officer said reserve officers were being called in as well as reinforcements from the SWAT team. "All hands are on deck for this," he said.

"We're kind of trying to triage what we got so far," another officer updated the police social media. "All we have are reports of minor to moderate injuries. We were having to transport people ourselves. We're trying to triage those that are elderly. That might be on oxygen, trying to get them out. So far, by the grace of God, I pray it stays this way."

Crews rescued 50 people from a partially collapsed apartment. Residents only had minor to moderate injuries and a few had head trauma. An officer called it a "miracle" that no one was seriously injured or killed. The 50 displaced are now housed in temporary shelter. 

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"Our personnel are very, very, very busy, and we're trying to make it to everybody. Please be patient with us. We are coming," an officer made a plea on social media. "This is a long process. This is something that we're not used to dealing with, but we're knocking it out." 

The St. Tammany Parish President declared a state of emergency for the entire parish and said damage was widespread.