TROTWOOD — Five years ago, the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes changed lives throughout the Miami Valley.
As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, a Trotwood man is still working to recover after the storms took everything he had.
>>RELATED: 15 Memorial Day tornadoes confirmed; EF4 traveled 20 miles, over half-mile wide
May 27, 2019, started as a nice summer day, but when the sun set, 15 tornadoes touched down across the region.
According to a previous News Center 7 report, an EF-4 tornado with winds up to 170 mph touched down west of Brookville and continued through Trotwood to Dayton and Riverside.
Getting around has not been easy for Trotwood resident, De-yon Dovoll, but his 2-month-old Huskey Nakeyto made his life better.
“In 2018, I was hit by a car and put in a (wheel)chair,” Dovoll said.
Dovoll said Nakeyto had two different barks.
“One was more of an alert bark, the other is a, you need to look at this type of bark,” Dovall said.
But on May 27, Nakeyto made an unfamiliar whimper after being let outside.
“I saw him turn upside down, and straight in the air,” Dovoll said.
>>RELATED: Memorial Day Tornadoes: Remembering the destruction, devastation 4 years later
Dovall couldn’t go look for his dog as the EF-4 tornado forced him to take cover.
“The only spot in my apartment was the hallway. It had no windows, it was deep enough into the apartment itself, that I was able to be OK,” Dovall said.
The tornado then made its way into Dayton, where people like Johnny Kiddle were affected.
“I was in bed when the power went out,” Kiddle said.
Kiddle and his wife had seconds to take cover and the storm started chipping away at their apartment building.
“Debris started hitting the side of the building. I told her to get the dogs and go to the bathroom. By the time she did that, it was over,” Kiddle said.
Kiddle said when he saw the damage, he was shocked.
“It looked like a disaster. Something you would see on TV or something you think is going to happen to you. It’s pretty dramatic,” Kiddle said.
Despite the damage, Kiddle’s family was OK. He said the love and support they received, kept them in the area.
“I couldn’t really believe people helped that much and were so willing to help people they didn’t even know,” Kiddle said.
>>RELATED: ‘Life will keep moving;’ Last building damaged in Memorial Day Tornados demolished
Dovoll said that even though it’s been five years, he’s still starting over.
“I lost everything,” Dovoll said.
He said all that was left was “4 little bags of clothes.” Since the storms, Dovall moved from Trotwood to Dayton.
He said no matter how much time has passed; he can’t move past Nakeyto and what happened on Memorial Day.
“I haven’t gotten a dog since,” Dovoll said.
©2024 Cox Media Group
