Collin County sheriff's deputy honored for actions during 2015 tornado

A Collin County deputy sheriff was honored by the Texas Senate this week for putting his life on the line during the December 2015 tornadoes.

Deputy Chuck Sibley left his family and got caught driving through the tornado that hit Collin County.    

“I got this vehicle to the floor and you can see its barely moving you can see all the debris -- there goes a big piece of sheet metal going across right and almost hit the vehicle,” Sibley said, while looking at video from that day.

Sibley was home watching FOX4 on Dec. 26, 2015 when he learned a tornado was headed towards Copeville and Farmersville.

“So I told my wife and the kids to go get the mattress off the single bed go get in the bathtub and huddle up,” Sibley said.

Sibley left his family to help others.

“I got dressed, jumped in my squad car and went over to Giddy Up Go and told the kid there to get in the cooler -- that a tornado was coming. Went up to Hilltop Grocery and told the two guys there to get in the cooler.”

He then headed north on Hwy. 78 and tried to get ahead of the storm.

“I got half way between Copeville and Farmersville on 78 and the storm ran over me out there,” Sibley said. “You can’t see from the video, but the vehicle was actually shaking like this and it felt like the tires were real light on the road.”

 “He truly cheated death, God was with him,” said Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner. “When he arrives back at the store there is complete and utter total destruction at the scene and it was just chaos.”

Two people died in Copeville, but the men he told to jump in the coolers survived.

This week Sibley was honored by the Texas Senate for his bravery in the storm.

“Oh that was the most incredible experience other than my kids being born and being married -- that was just an absolutely humbling honor,” Sibley said.