A trucker from Salem may have gotten the ride of his life during Wednesday’s tornado in Windham when his tractor-trailer was involved in a crash with two other trucks along the Ohio Turnpike.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, 50-year-old Michael McFadden of Salem was driving an International tractor-trailer east on the pike when the storms struck just before 7 p.m.

Troopers say McFadden’s tractor-trailer, as well as two Freightliners being driven by 24-year-old Randy Florentino of Cleveland, and 39-year-old Anatoli Kulkouski of Miami Florida, were forced out of control by the extreme weather.

Kulakouski’s truck rolled over onto the concrete median barrier.  Mcfadden’s tractor-trailer ran off the roadway struck a guardrail and then jack-knifed. Florentio’s truck was also damaged.

Kulakouski was the only driver injured.  He suffered minor injuries and was taken to the University Hospital Portage Medical Center. Florentino and McFadden did not report any injuries.

The eastbound lanes of the turnpike were closed for approximately three hours until the wreckage could be cleared.

Traffic was backed up, but a Trooper managed to reach the crash scene before the sun went down.

 

State Patrol video recorded from a helicopter showed not only the crash scene from the air but also several homes that lost their roofs and sustained other damage during the tornado.

The patrol says the crash was weather-related.  The National Weather Service confirmed the following day that damage in the Portage County community was caused by an F-1 tornado.