CLARKSVILLE, TN (WKRN) – Last week, Clarksville residents gathered in the West Creek Farms neighborhood to remember the people killed in their community by a 2023 EF-3 tornado on Dec. 9, 2023.
Angela Hayes was at her home on Henry Place Boulevard taking a nap when the 150 mph windstorm showed its wrath.
“You hear your mother screaming and the roof lifting up from your head, then, once everything is done, just seeing your whole life – just everything – just destroyed,” Hayes said. “I never, in my entire life, will look at tornadoes the same way I did.”
Moments later, Hayes was swept into her neighbor’s yard, mere feet away from where she said her mother’s car landed. “I really thought it was a dream because I worked the night before and I had been sleeping,” Hayes said.
She’s still mourning the loss of her 34-year-old brother Stephen Kwaah Hayes. He was one of those who died in Clarksville that day.
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“He was like a big brother to everybody, even though he was my little brother, he was really protective,” Hayes said. “I thought I heard him say ‘I’m coming,’ but I believe the front end of the house is what took most of the hit.”
The rest of Hayes family did make it out somehow, she said, including her mother. Her mother was ultimately able to get their three children to safety as well as her husband. She was also able to save a now-6-month-old, with whom Hayes was pregnant at the time.
“Cherish your family. You never know when your last day is going to be. (You) definitely spend more time with your family, your community, your friends,” Hayes said. “I was just amazed at how many people around us we did not know, but still took their time to come to care for us.”
Although Hayes and her husband sold their family home after it was destroyed, one year later, it’s already been rebuilt. As the community continues to recover, part of the Dec. 9, 2023 tornado will always stick with her.
“Whenever something is mentioned of a tornado watch or anything, it really just brings the fear back to us,” Hayes said. “It’s not easy, but I know God is with us and we have that faith and belief that the fact that he brought us through this, that we can stay strong.”
From Clarksville Now news partner WKRN-Channel 2 in Nashville.