Tornado kills woman as neighbors try desperately to save her

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ill. (KFVS/Gray News) - A woman died Monday when a tornado destroyed her home as her neighbor attempted to rescue her.

Delores Shelton was killed when the tornado struck her Jefferson County home. Rodney Gass, who had lived next door to Shelton for 35 years, tried to reach her as the storm approached.

“She was on the porch and went in right before the storm hit. I don’t think she even knew it was coming,” Gass said.

Rescue attempt

Gass, along with his wife and son Jacob, got in their pickup truck to reach Shelton, whom they called Bunny.

“We pulled up in the yard, and the limbs started falling, so we couldn’t get up to the door, then I couldn’t back up. The truck started turning and the tornado got right on top of us and started turning the truck. We all got hit in the head when the tree hit the truck and caved the cab in. We couldn’t back up. We couldn’t go anywhere,” Gass said.

When they got out of the truck, Shelton’s home was gone.

“I got out and I realized the house was gone. It was 4-5 seconds. The house, garage, car and her side by side. The house - there was nothing left, not even a board,” Gass said.

Jacob Gass was released from the hospital late Monday night after receiving a head injury.

“You can see my big bumps on my head. The truck was spinning. We got thrown around pretty bad. Glass was shattering. I’m just thankful to be alive at this point,” Jacob Gass said.

Shelton was later found unresponsive in the field across the road.

“We couldn’t just leave her there. We got there but we didn’t get there in time,” Rodney Gass said, urging people to take warnings seriously.

“When the alarm goes off on your phone or tv. You better look outside. It happens sometimes that we ignore them. We need to pay attention. Because it’s seconds. You just don’t have time,” he said.