A small town about 45 miles southwest of St. Louis, called Villa Ridge, suffered damage when an EF-2 tornado damaged several buildings, including a Burger King.
Villa Ridge has a population of about 3,000 people and sits between Interstate 44 and Highway 100 in Franklin County.
Off the exit to Washington, Missouri, on Interstate 44, is a Burger King restaurant with a connected gas station next door. Across the way is a bank, another gas station and a rest stop for large trucks.
Video from Friday night shows the tornado illuminated in the background during the severe weather, where the sign for the gas station and Burger King sits off the interstate.
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The tornado ended up partially destroying the Burger King and gas station, trapping 13 Burger King employees and customers inside a bathroom where they were taking shelter.
Gabriella Breeding, Burger King’s general manager, was on the phone with employees trapped inside the building as she rushed to the store, also calling 911 on the way.
She arrived about the same time as local firefighters, who checked the building and didn’t believe anyone was inside. Breeding insisted people were in the building.
When they heard people calling out and saw the light of a flashlight, firefighters were able to find and rescue all the people inside.
None of the 13 people stuck inside were injured.
One of the employee’s cars was totaled in the parking lot outside.
Five semi-trucks were flipped over nearby.
It’s estimated the Burger King location in Villa Ridge will be closed for three to six months while the extent of damage is investigated and a determination is made about whether the building can be repaired or if it needs to be rebuilt entirely.
During that time, the approximately 20 people who work at that Burger King location will be offered a temporary transfer to one of the chain’s locations in neighboring cities.
At least 12 people were killed in Missouri during the severe weather on Friday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed.
The EF-2 tornado that touched down in Villa Ridge tracked 13 miles from Villa Ridge to Wildwood, Missouri, the National Weather Service said.