Like a Rock: Teen Survives Tornado in Chevy Silverado

The old commercial adage may be true after all: Chevys really are built like a rock.

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Texas 16-year-old Riley Leon was driving home from a job interview on Monday when he found himself in the middle of a tornado. He was driving his red 2004 Chevy Silverado, a truck he purchased to prove to his parents that he could take care of something, when the EF-2 twister slammed the truck onto its side, spun it around, and remarkably left it upright on its tires. Leon's ordeal was caught on video, which quickly went viral.

Miraculously, Leon was left with only cuts on his arm, some soreness, and a case of shock. The Elgin, Texas, police officer who responded to the scene said, "I asked if he was okay, and he shook his head and didn’t really answer me," said Commander Aaron Crim. "Now I understand why he had a blind stare. I’m sure he was scared to death."

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In an interview with Good Morning America, Leon explained what it was like being in that truck. "Like a carnival game, those ones that flipped you over," he said. "It was fast. I didn’t feeling nothing because it was like in a blink of an eye."

The Silverado, one of the nation's best-selling trucks, fared pretty well considering it went through a literal tornado. The windows are blown out, there are some serious dents and scrapes, and the side mirrors are gone. It's going to need a fair amount of repair — though the story seems ripe for Chevrolet to step in with a gift for the lucky teen.

At school, Leon's classmates now call him Tornado Boy. And he starts his new job at Whataburger next week. 

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