UNION CITY, Mich. — Recovery efforts are underway in Union City following last week's deadly tornado, as neighbors along Union Lake begin piecing their lives back together.
13 Years on the Lake — Gone in Minutes
Sandra Hoit and her husband James had lived on the lakefront property for 13 years. Hoit said she and her husband had just returned home when the tornado roared through their neighborhood.
Hoit said she was at the front door when she saw the tornado coming and tried to get back inside — but the wind and pressure made it nearly impossible to open the door.
"I was holding on to something for dear life, and the next thing I know, something hit me," Hoit said. "All I know is I was dazed, and I went down."
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Pinned Under Debris, She Called 911
She said she could hear the insulation, dirt and debris swirling around her like a dust storm, until suddenly everything went quiet. Hoit said she then found herself pinned beneath debris and immediately called 911.
"I told her, 'A tornado has just went through, and I'm pinned underneath all this debris, and I need help now,'" Hoit said. The dispatcher took her information and asked her to stay on the line but quickly had to put her on hold as more calls flooded in.
When asked how long the ordeal lasted, Hoit said it was hard to measure.
"It felt like eternity. It probably lasted more like maybe 5 to 20 minutes at most. But when you're laying under debris and you can't find your loved ones or your pets — time is nothing. It's almost as if it stands still."
The Rescue: Husband, Neighbors and Five Dogs All Make It Out
Rescuers used a two-by-four to lift the debris and alleviate the pressure that had her pinned. Meanwhile, her husband James was found holding onto a reinforced steel gate railing near a wire rack inside the home.
All five of the couple's dogs survived. One of the bulldogs had been leaning against the railing where James was holding on, which Hoit said likely saved the dog's life. One of their dogs which Hoit noted doesn't typically bark, was found in a back room. Hoit used her phone flashlight to locate him through a small hole in the debris.
"After they got me out, we started looking, and we started looking, and we started listening," she said.
The Hoits also mentioned their neighbor Frank, whose entire home was destroyed except for his fireplace — the very thing Hoit said saved his life.
"That's the only thing that kept Frank alive. He got inside that fireplace," she said.
The Storm's Path and Its Toll on the Community
The Branch County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that three people passed away and twelve others were injured. Hoit described the tornado's path as one that appeared to come off Union Lake — videos captured from across the lake showed it picking up a large sheet of ice — before it turned and tore through the neighborhood.
"I saw it rip Frank's roof, and then went after ours, and that's when I got hit, and I went down," she said.
Three of Hoit's close friends and neighbors died in the storm. The victims' names have since been released by authorities.
"We lost three very close friends, but yeah, two of them, well, actually three of them were in the hospital," she said.
Returning to the Rubble
When Hoit returned to the property, she said her first instinct was practical and characteristically optimistic.
"My first initial thoughts — I bet you I can get my Bronco up and running again," she said.
Hoit made a list of items she hoped to recover from the wreckage, including her work bag, which contained a key fob and a time clock card needed for her job.
"I wrote down a list of things I really, really wanted. It was my carport, my laptop, my 3D printer, my printer, and then my work bag and my lunch bag, because it's got my keys," she said.
But above all, Hoit said the material losses are manageable.
"The grandkids and the kids, you know, the memory ones, the sentimental stuff, because I do believe the rest of it can be pretty much replaced. They're inanimate objects. I mean, we got our dogs, we're standing in the upright position — that is the one thing that matters the most."
As for how she's managing emotionally, Hoit said she's leaning on humor to keep herself going.
"I have to, because if I don't keep a hopeful — if I don't basically joke, it will set in, and I'll be a big ball of just blood. So I'm going to continue, and I'm going to joke around with my neighbors."
Hoit said she is grateful that she, her husband and their dogs made it out alive, and that the family is now focused on recovering.
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