'The Wire' actor says his son was critically injured in Georgia tornado
The National Weather Service issued a rating of EF-2 for the Henry County tornado. The agency said the tornado had estimated peak winds of 135 mph and a path measuring about 200 yards wide and nearly 2 miles long.
Tornado rips through Georgia neighborhood Thursday
A tornado touched down in Henry County, Georgia on Thursday afternoon just before 4:00 p.m. local time. The twister tore through several homes and left an 18-year-old critically injured according to county police.
ATLANTA – Actor Tray Chaney, known for his role in "The Wire," said that his son was seriously injured when he was thrown 300 feet from his room as a tornado barreled through their Henry County, Georgia, home on Thursday.
The tornado touched down just before 4 p.m. local time outside the community of Locust Grove, which sits southeast of Atlanta.
There, Chaney, his wife and son had a home they moved into only five years ago in 2020, according to the actor.
Tray Chaney attends the 2022 Beloved Benefit at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 07, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Marcus Ingram / Getty Images)
"I lost my house, I lost everything in it," Chaney said in a tearful video posted on his Instagram page, showing the damage and giving an update on his family’s survival. "Thank God I'm still living. I survived a tornado and my son - and he survived… I’m doing a video to let you know right now to cherish life as much as you can."
Chaney noted in a separate Instagram post that he became unconscious during the storm, buried underneath debris from his home. As he regained consciousness, he was unable to find his son, Malachi.
With the help of his neighbors, Chaney said he was able to locate Malachi 300 feet away in the woods behind their home with serious injuries. He was brought to the intensive care unit of a hospital, where he remains as of Friday afternoon, Chaney said on Instagram.
"The worst pain of my entire life as a father watching my Son in this hospital bed in so much pain!" Chaney wrote on Instagram. "Take the house, take the money, take the cars all the material things I just want my Son back in great health like he was."
TORNADO RIPS THROUGH GEORGIA NEIGHBORHOOD, CRITICALLY INJURING 18-YEAR-OLD
A tornado touched down in Henry County, Georgia on Thursday afternoon just before 4:00 p.m. local time. The twister tore through several homes and left an 18-year-old critically injured according to county police.
(WAGA / FOX Weather)
Henry County Police Deputy Chief Jason Bolton told FOX 5 Atlanta that residents did not have much warning ahead of time.
"The first call came in around 3:32 p.m., and that was right about the same time that we received warning from the National Weather Center," Bolton said. "The 18-year-old is in critical condition and has been taken to Grady (Memorial Hospital)."
The National Weather Service issued a rating of EF-2 for the Henry County tornado. The agency said the tornado had estimated peak winds of 135 mph and a path measuring about 200 yards wide and nearly 2 miles long.
Meanwhile, the Chaney family is now asking for prayers and support through their GoFundMe account.