In a life-saving act, an anxious motorist aided a family in escaping the destructive Florida tornado, which was born from Milton.
She slammed on the brakes, put her vehicle in reverse, and sped backwards as far as possible – all while shouting and blaring the horn on Winter Garden Parkway, a residential road in Lakewood Park last Wednesday. At that moment, a couple heard Westfield's terrified screams to seek shelter as they filmed water accumulating on the road.
"I heard her scream 'seek refuge in your home!' and I was like, oh my goodness, this is serious," Brandi Clarke explained to CNN affiliate WPEC.
As Hurricane Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida, the eastern part of the state was hit by a series of tornadoes. Westfield was driving back to her home in the Spanish Lakes community when she stumbled upon a tornado that eventually wreaked havoc upon the road she had to flee from.
The tornado in Spanish Lakes claimed at least six lives. Westfield's house remained untouched, although her carport and shed roof were damaged, but she was merely grateful for her survival.
Having heard Westfield's warning, Clarke told WPEC that she and her husband swiftly rushed inside and retrieved their children. As soon as her husband locked the door, the entire house shook violently due to the tornado's force, Clarke recalled.
Afterward, Clarke expressed her gratitude for Westfield's warning on her Facebook page in an attempt to locate the hero who gave them the life-saving warning.
"She saved our lives," Clarke told WPEC during their first meeting in Clarke's driveway on Monday.
"No matter how much she refuses to accept it, you truly did," she told the news outlet, which was there for their initial encounter.
"I keep telling everyone that I didn't do anything heroic; I simply panicked, but my panic alerted others to take cover, and that's a blessing," Westfield told CNN.
A predestined encounter
Prior to this harrowing event, the 55-year-old Westfield had spent nearly three hours in her workplace sheltering along with her daughter and grandchildren as her phone was inundated with tornado warnings every few minutes, she mentioned.
When she slammed on the brakes, a truck driver behind her wanted to pass her.
"I began beeping my horn, like 'don't go, don't go!'" Westfield said. "He drove around me, and I put the car in reverse, traveling backward as fast as possible, shrieking, and just kept going until I saw it (the tornado) moving off to the side."
When it appeared safe, Westfield drove her daughter and grandchildren to their home, which was situated close by where she would later encounter the tornado forming on Winter Garden Parkway. She then left to drive home to Spanish Lakes, approximately three miles away, but only made it about a mile until she observed debris flying through the air.
Westfield urgently reversed her car backwards until reaching the end of the road, determined to return home to her husband, with whom she remained on the phone during the chaotic car journey. She soon realized that she couldn't take the necessary turn to get home.
"I looked, and the gas pumps and the roof were gone at the gas station. I looked left, and two 18-wheelers had been ejected from the Dollar General parking lot," Westfield said, still on the phone with her husband. She urged him to seek cover and lie down as she heard the tornado approaching him.
"He heard me going through it, and I told him I was safe, I reached the other side, but then it came directly into our community," she said.
Westfield was still in a state of panic, worrying about her family, when she decided to take refuge in a nearby pizzeria called Nino's. The owner and his son then offered to rescue her husband from his home and inspected on her daughter and grandchildren, she continued.
In her Facebook post, aiming to locate Westfield, Clarke stated, "I swear I heard you scream 'take shelter'."
"Within seconds of rushing into our home and scooping our children off the couch, our house began shaking, my ears began popping, the dogs began howling and whining," Clarke wrote. "For 15 seconds, my world came to a standstill as I heard the loudest rumbling sound sweep across the house."
Before last week, Westfield was unacquainted with Clarke and her husband. However, she had driven by their house "a million times" on her usual trips to her daughter's house, she expressed.
Following seeing Clarke's Facebook post, the two finally met in person – and their bond was already palpable. Westfield and Clarke plan on maintaining their friendship, even going so far as to plan camping trips and barbecues in Clarke's driveway, the scene of their fateful encounter, before a tornado tore apart the houses across the street.
Clarke and her husband were grateful for Westfield's warning, quickly rushing inside and retrieving their children as their house shook violently due to the tornado's force. Westfield had driven by Clarke's house many times on her usual trips to her daughter's house before this event.
