VIDEO: Valley View, TX tornado rips through gas station walls
VALLEY VIEW, Texas - Video obtained by FOX 4 shows the moment that a tornado tore down the walls of a gas station in Valley View, Texas, about an hour north of Dallas.
Conner Stines was inside the Shell Station off of I-35, near Lone Oak Road.
In the video, you see a crowd of people inside taking cover while the wind rattles against the station's walls.
You can hear glass breaking and debris from outside the store flying inside.
Shortly after, a large gust of wind brought debris and rain inside the store.
VIDEO: Valley View, TX tornado caught on camera by driver
Alexander Rodriguez was one of the people who took cover inside the store. He said he hopped out of his truck and took cover moments before the tornado came.
"The sheet rock, all the roof came down. It was a crazy moment, crazy experience. One in a lifetime," he said.
A few of the 30 to 40 people inside the store were injured, but everyone survived.
Rodriguez said they put as many children as they could into the store's bathroom.
"There were a lot of kids crying. We covered them with what we could find," Rodriguez said.
After the tornado came through, Rodriguez and others who were inside the gas station helped a man who was trapped inside his car with his wife and their dog.
"We cranked the door open because it was stuck. He was bleeding. We took him to the ER," Rodriguez said.
Across the street from the gas station in Valley View, vehicles were thrown into a nearby pasture.
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The National Weather Service says the supercell persisted through the night Saturday and quickly grew in intensity.
"Night-time tornadoes are one of the most dangerous out there," said NWS Meteorologist Jennifer Dunn. "People aren’t paying attention, and its hard to see the threat."
At least 7 people were killed in the storms in Cooke County and trails of damage were left behind in Denton and Collin County.