CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Driving from Nashville to Clarksville, 25-year-old Cameron McNeil didn't realize he was about to get caught in the middle of a deadly tornado with 150 mph winds.
"It looked like a storm, and then it turned into something else," McNeil said, adding that when he saw stuff flying, he realized it was probably a tornado.
McNeil's dash camera captured the terrifying moments when the clouds went dark, debris started swirling around him, and power lines exploded.
"All that was going through my mind was, 'I need to get out of here and I need to keep driving,'" he recalled.
When asked why he was on the road and didn't pull over, McNeil said he didn't hear about the tornado ahead of time, he didn't get any alerts on his phone, and he didn't hear any sirens.
"I didn't pull over because I figured my car, again, it's so light, I figured I would get lifted into an apartment building, something. I just wanted to go back to where I'd been coming from, to where I knew the storm wasn't," he explained.
However, by the time he turned around, he was too late. Familiar landmarks were disappearing around him as they were either lifted out of the way or blocked from his view by debris.
"It looked like washers, dryers, things like that were on the road, so in my mind I was swerving around these things moving as fast as I could," McNeil described. "It was kind of after the fact that I looked back and said, 'Oh my goodness, that was crazy.'"
The 25-year-old made it through the tornado without any injuries, but his car was heavily damaged and his apartment was condemned. After the storm hit, McNeil said his fellow soldiers at Fort Campbell quickly came to help him move out of his apartment, give him rides around town, and take him out to dinner and lunch.
According to McNeil, he feels it wasn't his car, his driving skills, or his reflexes that saved him. It was his faith.
He told News 2 he had just bought a new study Bible in Nashville before driving back to Clarksville, so he had it in the back of his car when the tornado hit.
"Honestly, that's the only reason I think I'm still here, it's because God was watching over me and said it wasn't my time," he said.
McNeil said he's lucky to have survived of the tornado with just some property damage, especially since there are others who lost their lives or have nowhere else they can stay.
He set up a GoFundMe to raise money to replace some of his belongings and repair his car. If you want to make a donation, click here.