Surviving The Storm

It’s one thing to see pictures and hear horror stories that others have to tell after a vicious weather system has passed through an area. It’s quite another to find oneself at the center of that raging storm, unable to do anything but wait until the event ends before picking up the pieces. Brad and Peggy Ann Strupp, Crane, found themselves caught on the road, pulling a 16 foot loaded cargo trailer when the horrific hail and 110 mph windstorm struck Savage on July 29. The wind flipped their trailer, jamming it into the tailgate of their truck, and they had no option but to wait until the torrential rain stopped before they could even begin to assess the damage and look for a way out of their predicament.

“We were coming back from Billings with a trailer load,” says Peggy Ann. “It came across the radio that there was a storm cell at the Richland and Dawson County line. We were headed right into it, but we were on the piece of road under construction, the shoulder was soft, we had no place to turn around, no place to go, and no place to stop, so we kept going.”

The Strupps hoped to miss the brunt of the approaching storm, but they knew they faced serious weather conditions when they saw dark twisting clouds above them. “Brad could see swirling clouds, but I couldn’t see them at first from the passenger seat,” Peggy Ann remarks. “To the east I could see streams of white light opposite the sunset, like a search light sending up several beams from the same point. The clouds were black and then they turned white, and everything was spinning and swirling. There was a tractor trailer truck about a third of a mile ahead of us and we could see the trailer flopping back and forth, and the wind was whipping round bales and rolling them like marbles.”

She continues, “I was frightened looking at the clouds. There was a beautiful sunset to the west but it was pitch black overhead. I’ve seen tornado weather before so when I looked at those clouds I knew it could get very ugly.”

The Strupps witnessed a huge cottonwood tree split in half near a house on the road ahead of them. The tree split down the middle and half of it fell onto the road. This scary event provided enough distraction that when the wind lifted Strupps’ truck and trailer, causing the trailer to fall over onto its side, they had no time to feel fear. “A tree by a house split and half of it fell across the road,” Peggy Ann comments. “I was watching the tree fall and it distracted me enough so that I didn’t realize our danger until I felt the truck lift and the trailer blow over. The tongue of the trailer jammed into the tailgate of the truck, the trailer lifted off the ball, the receiver twisted, and the trailer hitch let go. The chains stayed attached and jerked the truck. We couldn’t move.”

The front of the Strupps’ pickup truck remained on the highway as the rain continued to come down in torrents. “The toppled trailer lay off the highway, past the rumble strip, but the front of the truck was sitting at a 45º angle on the road,” Peggy Ann says.

The Strupps sat, stranded, waiting for the storm to pass. Peggy Ann tried dialing 911 but she had no cell service at that point. However, passersby did stop and inquire if the Strupps were OK or needed assistance, a fact Peggy Ann appreciates. “It was still raining, but every single vehicle that passed stopped to make sure we were all right,” Peggy Ann notes. “We had no cell service so we did ask people to call in when they reached an area with service.”

The storm finally moved on, and at that point, approaching vehicles stopped, pulled over, and tried to figure out a way to help. A crew of workmen in two separate vehicles stopped, and they had the knowledge and most of the tools needed to set the trailer upright.

“They jacked up the truck to relieve the tension on the chains,” Peggy Ann remarks. “We got the truck off the road and then the men decided to lift the trailer, which was leaning and on its side. They blocked traffic, hooked on to the axle under the trailer, and then someone with a heavy work truck jerked the trailer back upright.”

With a ruined hitch, the only way the Strupps could get the trailer home that night was again through the generosity and kindness of strangers. “Our hitch was twisted so we had no way to secure the trailer to the truck,” Peggy Ann comments. “One of the work crew gave us a receiver and ball so we could limp home.”

Although the entire situation caused enormous tension, the Strupps express deep appreciation for the help they received from everyone. “This was very stressful so I didn’t even get names or the business the crew worked for, but I am very grateful and impressed,” Peggy Ann states emphatically. “People were very helpful and even the ones who couldn’t help us were friendly, polite, and tolerant of the situation. Just the idea that people stopped to offer help meant a lot to us.”

An amazing fact awaited the Strupps. They expected to find the contents of the trailer totally destroyed, but unbelievably, they lost very little in the accident. “We had large amounts of glass in the trailer,” Peggy Ann says. “We had two French doors and an exterior door with a large window in it, we had an unsecured ladder, and three coolers full of food. We were sure it was all gone.”

She laughs and adds, “The doors were fine. We had oranges, cherries, strawberries and dog food all over the trailer, and some of the oranges were smashed, but everything else was fine, including all the glass in the doors.”

Peggy Ann will not forget this adventure for quite some time. She also says she learned from this experience. “If I am ever hauling a trailer again, especially if I have horses in the trailer, and I think I may encounter a storm like this one, I will find a way to turn around,” she concludes. “We thought we couldn’t turn around where we were, but after experiencing this, somehow, some way, I will FIND a way to turn around to avoid another situation like this one.”