THE TORNADO. THAT’S WHEN I STARTED SEIZING BECAUSE THE SEARCH AND RESCUE. AND THEY DID FIND ME IN THE CREEK. I WAS HAVING A SEIZURE. NOT ONLY IS SHE REMEMBERING WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY, BUT SHE WANTS TO FIND HER HERO FROM THAT DAY. KOCO DAKOTA PICHICHI SPOKE TO HER TODAY. TONY TINNERMAN WAS NINE YEARS OLD. WHENEVER THE TORNADO STRUCK HER HOME. SHE SAYS SHE OWES HER LIFE TO THOSE WHO HELPED HER ON A NIGHT THAT SHE’LL NEVER FORGET. IT WAS DEFINITELY CRAZY. UM, IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO, YOU KNOW, LIKE BE NORMAL. IT WAS BEHIND THESE TREES HERE WHERE SHE SAYS HER AND HER FAMILY WERE THROWN FROM THEIR HOME WHEN THEY FOUND ME, I. I WAS HAVING A SEIZURE. MY SISTER HAD A HOLE IN HER BACK FROM DEBRIS HITTING HER. SHE REMEMBERS BEING TAKEN TO A BRIDGE CREEK PUBLIC SCHOOL GYM THAT WAS TURNED INTO A MAKESHIFT TRIAGE SPOT. IT’S HARD BEING. IT’S HARD BEING IN THIS SCHOOL. I GET VERY ANXIOUS. ANXIETY PTSD IS REAL AND BUT I’M I’M VERY THANKFUL TO BE ALIVE AND TO THIS DAY, SHE’S LOOKING FOR A WOMAN NAMED KATIE HAYNES, THE AMBULANCE DRIVER WHO SHE SAYS SAVED HER LIFE, ALLOWING HER TO EVENTUALLY HAVE HER OWN FAMILY. EVERYTHING I LOVE, I LOVE WAKING UP IN THE MORNING TO ALL THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS I HAVE, BUT WITHOUT WITHOUT BENTLEY AND ADAM, I WOULD BE A WRECK IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO HIM. AND SHE SAYS SEEING THE DEADLY DEVASTATION FROM THIS PAST WEEKEND’S TORNADO OUTBREAK HITTING TOWNS LIKE SULFUR, MARIETTA AND HOLDENVILLE BROUGHT HER BACK TO THOSE DAYS RIGHT HERE IN BRIDGE CREEK IN BRID
Oklahoma tornado survivor seeks hero 25 years later
A survivor of the deadly 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak is searching for the ambulance driver who saved her life.
Updated: 8:10 PM CDT May 7, 2024
May 3, 2024, marked the 25th anniversary of a deadly tornado outbreak that swept across Oklahoma, claiming dozens of lives and injuring hundreds.”That’s when I started seizing, because search and rescue, when they did find me in the creek, I was having a seizure,” Tawny Tinneman said. Tinneman was just 9 years old when the tornado struck her home. She credits her survival to those who came to her aid on a night she’ll never forget. The tornado’s impact was devastating, with many lives lost.”It was definitely crazy. It took a long time to be normal,” she said.Tinneman and her family were thrown from their home by the powerful tornado.”When they found me, I was having a seizure. My sister had a hole in her back from debris hitting her,” Tinneman said. She was taken to a Bridge Creek Public Schools gym, which had been converted into a makeshift triage center.”My dad laid right here. He was one of the last ones to leave the gym with little bitty 4-year-old Wyatt Darnell,” she said. Now, Tinneman is searching for a woman named Katie Hanes. Hanes was the ambulance driver who Tinneman said saved her life that day.”I love waking up in the morning to all the beautiful things I have. Without Bentley and Adam, I would be a wreck,” Tinneman said, talking about her children. The recent tornado outbreak that devastated towns like Sulphur, Marietta and Holdenville brought back memories of her own experience in Bridge Creek, which is around 30 miles outside of Oklahoma City. As she reflects on the past and the recent events, Tinneman’s search for her hero continues.
May 3, 2024, marked the 25th anniversary of a deadly tornado outbreak that swept across Oklahoma, claiming dozens of lives and injuring hundreds.
“That’s when I started seizing, because search and rescue, when they did find me in the creek, I was having a seizure,” Tawny Tinneman said.
Tinneman was just 9 years old when the tornado struck her home. She credits her survival to those who came to her aid on a night she’ll never forget. The tornado’s impact was devastating, with many lives lost.
“It was definitely crazy. It took a long time to be normal,” she said.
Tinneman and her family were thrown from their home by the powerful tornado.
“When they found me, I was having a seizure. My sister had a hole in her back from debris hitting her,” Tinneman said.
She was taken to a Bridge Creek Public Schools gym, which had been converted into a makeshift triage center.
“My dad laid right here. He was one of the last ones to leave the gym with little bitty 4-year-old Wyatt Darnell,” she said.
Now, Tinneman is searching for a woman named Katie Hanes. Hanes was the ambulance driver who Tinneman said saved her life that day.
“I love waking up in the morning to all the beautiful things I have. Without Bentley and Adam, I would be a wreck,” Tinneman said, talking about her children.
The recent tornado outbreak that devastated towns like Sulphur, Marietta and Holdenville brought back memories of her own experience in Bridge Creek, which is around 30 miles outside of Oklahoma City.
As she reflects on the past and the recent events, Tinneman’s search for her hero continues.
