Villa Ridge, Missouri – An EF-2 tornado struck Villa Ridge, a small town about 45 miles southwest of St. Louis, damaging several buildings, including a Burger King.
Villa Ridge, located between Interstate 44 and Highway 100 in Franklin County, has a population of approximately 3,000 people.
A Burger King restaurant with a connected gas station next door is located just off the Interstate 44 exit for Washington, Missouri. Across the street is a bank, another gas station, and a truck stop.
A video from Friday night shows the tornado illuminated in the background during the severe weather, near the gas station and Burger King sign off the interstate.
The tornado ended up partially destroying the Burger King and gas station, trapping 13 Burger King employees and customers in a bathroom where they sought refuge.
Burger King’s general manager, Gabriella Breeding, was on the phone with employees trapped inside the building as she rushed to the store, calling 911 along the way.
She arrived around the same time as local firefighters, who checked the building and concluded that no one was inside. Breeding insisted that people were present in the building.
When firefighters heard people calling out and saw the light of a flashlight, they were able to locate and rescue everyone inside.
None of the 13 people trapped inside were injured. One of the employees’ vehicles was totaled in the parking lot outside.
Five semi-trucks were overturned nearby.
The Burger King location in Villa Ridge is expected to be closed for three to six months while the extent of the damage is assessed and a decision made on whether the building can be repaired or completely rebuilt.
During that time, the approximately 20 employees at that Burger King location will be offered a temporary transfer to one of the chain’s other locations in nearby cities.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed that at least 12 people died in Missouri due to severe weather on Friday.
The National Weather Service reported that the EF-2 tornado that struck Villa Ridge traveled 13 miles to Wildwood, Missouri, after touching down.
