‘I didn’t think it was going to be shared 3 states away’; Tornado video goes viral

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PITSBURG, Ohio — It is rare to come across a tornado while driving, but that is what happened to Phillip Campbell late Wednesday afternoon, and he will never forget what happened.

Campbell captured the tornado while he was driving near the Darke and Miami County line on Fourman Road and Red River West Grove Road in Monroe Twp.

“I stopped at a gentleman’s house, dropping some parts off and I was pulling out of his driveway. I’d been watching the storm the whole way there, kind of thinking it was one of those eerie storms that looked like it could possibly cause a tornado,” Campbell said.

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Campbell quickly posted the video to Facebook.

“That way everybody in the immediate area at least could hopefully see it and know this isn’t a joke and take cover,” Campbell said.

Campbell wanted to get the word out about the weather. People then shared his video thousands of times.

“I did not expect. I had no idea that video was going to go so viral. There was some criticism on there about the fact that I didn’t put the state on there at the intersection, but I didn’t think it was going to be shared three states away,” Campbell said.

With the video getting more than a million views, and that number keeps increasing, Campbell keeps thinking about the people the severe weather directly impacted.

“I would encourage anybody that’s around if you can go out and help if they still need it, please do so,” he said.

Campbell said the money he’s raised from this video will be used to help tornado victims in the area.