'It's ruined': Roof torn off middle school when deadly EF-3 tornado rips through Wilson County

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An EF-3 tornado ripped through Wilson County on Thursday, killing a man, destroying a 130-year-old church and tearing the roof of Springfield Middle School in Lucama.

The tornado was first reported at 2:51 a.m. Thursday in Lucama. Family members said Bryan Barnes, 60, died when the tornado caused his home to collapse.

On Friday morning, the National Weather Service said the tornado was classified as EF-3 with 140 mph winds.

Nick Petro with the National Weather Service in Raleigh told WRAL News EF-3 tornadoes are uncommon in North Carolina.

“Most of the tornadoes that occur in North Carolina tend to be EF-0 and EF-1 … rarely do we have EF-3, 4 and 5,” Petro said. “This is a little bit stronger than most of the typical tornadoes we see here in North Carolina.”

WRAL News spoke with Robbie Driver, a captain with the volunteer fire department in Lucama who responded on Thursday when the tornado hit, and his son, Bryson, a student at Springfield Middle School.

When storm conditions cleared, Bryson, a rising seventh grader, was able to see some of the damage to classrooms he had been in as recently as last semester. A portion of the roof was torn off and classroom supplies were scattered throughout the school.

Bryson said, while the building isn’t unrecognizable, it’s strange to see where he previously studied.

“It just broke my heart,” Bryson said. “I was looking forward to starting a new school year with all my friends after the summer, playing sports stuff like that,” he said. “Whenever we got here and I saw it I was all tore up, I was just in shock.”

School was set to begin Aug. 26. Now it’s unclear when — or where — classes will be held.

“One of my questions is what am I gonna do, where am I gonna go, it’s ruined,” Bryson said. “Another question is if it happens again in the future, what are we gonna do again?”

The school district said Debby caused the most significant damage to the sixth and seventh grade portions of the building.

Bryson’s father was one of the first emergency responders on the scene.

“Just seeing the destruction, the whole front of the school being blown off … brickwork laying everywhere, insulation all over the place, having the metal off the roof blown all out into the highway in front of the school, trees laying everywhere … it’s just destruction everywhere,” Robbie Driver described. “Houses across the road, seeing the destruction of those is just devastating.”

The tornado was one of at least five confirmed to touch down across central North Carolina on Thursday as Debby dropped heavy rain on the state.

Groups of volunteers were coming together on Friday to clean up the tornado damage. Most people in the area have already had their electricity restored.

Despite the loss, Robbie Driver said the strong leadership in Wilson County will help.

“We have a excellent school system here in Wilson County,” he said. “The superintendents all the way down to the staff here at Springfield Middle.”

Robbie Driver estimated around 450 students attend the middle school. It’s unclear what will happen when the fall semester begins.

“Are they going to be split up, are they going to have to go to different areas? Are we going back to remote learning until they can fix this? You know, what’s our next steps as a community to rebuild after the devastation that we’ve gone through?,” Robbie Driver said.

The volunteer firefighter also thanked the local 911 call center and other first responders who jumped into action on Thursday when disaster struck.

“They handled this with 100% calmness … you never saw the stress that come out of them,” he described.

Drone 5 video shows the extensive damage the tornado caused to the front of the school building, which was built in 2000.

According to Wilson County Schools, no students or staff were inside the building. A viewer sent WRAL News video of damage inside the school.

Wilson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Lane Mills said:

“This situation will be ongoing and we don’t yet know the full extent of the damage, but we will be sharing information and next steps with our families and staff as we can. It was heartbreaking to see the school right after the event, and I want to thank all of the caring folks that have already reached out to offer assistance and support.”

Gov. Roy Cooper visited Lucama on Thursday to tour the school’s damage.

“Thank god the children were not there when this storm hit,” Cooper said. “What a devastating blow to this school … they have a lot of work ahead in repairing the school.”

WRAL News spoke with Seth Smith, who lives near the school. He said the tornado shook his house.

“My wife said she felt the house shaking,” he said. “I didn’t notice it because we were in the shower stall. We got in our safe spot.”

WRAL News also talked with Marcus Spell, the school’s former principal.

“I had to see it myself,” he said. “A lot of memories here, I spent 17 years in the building … It makes it hard to sit here and look at.”

Spell said he lives close to the school and multiple people sent him messages to ask if he was okay.

“A big part of this community – students, teachers, admins – they have sent me messages asking if I was alright,” he said.

The tornado also destroyed a historic Wilson church. Drone video shows the full effect of the tornado that touched down early Thursday morning.

Pastor Tim Woodard said Friendship Primitive Baptist Church has been around for more than 100 years.

“For a church that’s 130 years old, it’s a blessing it could be here this long,” Woodard said.

The damage is extensive, with water pooling around the pews and trees piercing the building.

Ernest Melton, a moderator of the Union Primitive Baptist Association, said he used to come watch his father and grandfather preach.

“I call it the ‘good time church,'” he said. “When you hear the word friendship you think about brotherly love. It’s just a happy feeling just to know you’re going to Friendship.”

The pastor said he doesn’t know if the building will be repaired.

Debby prompted more than 18 tornado warnings on Thursday in central North Carolina and one Wednesday in Sampson County. At least five tornadoes were confirmed Thursday in Wilson, Edgecombe, Franklin and Vance counties.

Wilson County residents begin cleanup efforts after EF-3 tornado

WRAL News spoke Friday with several Wilson County residents.

Tony Hawley explained what happened to the homes his mother and brother lived in. The two homes are next to each other.

“My mother was at home, and she could not get out at the time,” Tony Hawley said. “They had to break the back door to get her out.”

Hawley said authorities had to take his brother to the hospital in Greenville.

“He had a severe cut in his arm,” Tony Hawley said of his brother. “I talked to him last night, all the bleeding stopped. He’s good.”

Hawley explained what his brother told him about what happened early Thursday morning.

“My brother said he got up, he heard his phone go off, he turned on the TV, he said, ‘Hey, it’s coming our way,'” Hawley said. “They got in the hallway.

“By the time they got in the hallway, he said, five seconds and it was over. My mother, she was laying in bed. She said she heard the wind and all of a sudden debris fell on top of her.”

Hawley said he doesn’t know what the family will do given the state his mother’s house is in and given her age.

“I live five miles from here,” Hawley said. “[My brother] said, ‘We lost everything.’

“Immediately, I was overwhelmed. I came straight over.”

Hawley said he is thankful he has his family.

“I’m overwhelmed,” he said. “I got 200 calls [Thursday] from friends I haven’t even heard from in months, but they all just want to give a helping hand. I’m so thankful.”

Family members have set up a GoFundMe for the Hawley family.

On Friday, Wilson County resident Russell Davis offered his equipment and coworkers to pick up debris.

“We knew the tornado had crossed by,” Davis said. “We had all our equipment and our guys, so we came over to help.

Davis, a third-generation farmer, he lives one mile from the devastation.

“It’s the least we could do,” Davis said. “It could’ve been us.”

On Friday, WRAL News spoke with Jimmy Hawley, the son-in-law of former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt. Jimmy Hawley talked about the family’s home a barn destroyed due to the tornado.

“It was hit by a tornado 10-15 years ago. We restored it,” Jimmy Hawley said of the barn. “This time, it was a total loss. It was hard blow to everyone.”

Jimmy Hawley said his family’s barn was initially built in the 1930s. He also said his family’s house has substantial damage. A tree pierced the home and the storm ripped the chimney off, he said.

“We’re not sure if we’ll restore the house, leave it as is or we demolish it,” he said. “We’re trying to decide.

“There’s a lot of history there in the house.”