TOLEDO, Ohio — The air felt heavy and sticky as the sun set on June 5, 2010.
At 11:20 p.m., a devastating EF-4 tornado swept through Wood County. The twister touched down in Millbury and Lake Township, killing seven people.
In the hours that followed, first responders combed debris in search of people trapped or missing.
The next morning, Gerald Lathrop spoke with WTOL 11.
“The tornado picked me up and I landed in between two boulders and the whole building collapsed on me,” Lathrop said.
He was driving on SR 795 with his girlfriend, Bailey Bowman. The pair took shelter inside of a Lake Township building, which was destroyed by the tornado.
“They went out and found Bailey in the yard. She didn't make it,” Lathrop said during a 2014 interview.
Kathleen Hammit was also driving near the township building when the tornado tore through. She did not survive.
As the storm rolled through Wood County, it destroyed Lake High School. Several people huddled inside, using the building for shelter. The community would build a new school that opened in 2012.
The tornado continued to tear a path of destruction through Lake Township. After it leveled the school, it claimed the life of Ted Krantz of Millbury. Then, the twister moved across Main Street, leveling houses in its path.
The Walter family slept inside one of those homes when the tornado hit. Mary, the mother of the family, and her son, Hayden, were killed. Ryan, the father, later died from his injuries at the hospital. Their daughter, Maddie, survived.
That devastating tornado continued a path of destruction running 10 miles long. It packed wind speeds of up to 175 miles per hour and grew to a width of 400 yards.
A tornado also touched down in Fulton County, causing damage to homes and thousands of trees at Oak Openings Preserve Metropark and the Maumee State Forest. A separate twister hit Dundee, Mich., causing damage to properties and businesses, including Splash Universe Water Park.
A seventh victim, Irwin Welling, died days later from his injuries.
Homes have since been rebuilt and damage has been repaired. However, the lives the storm touched remain forever changed.
Those killed in the June 5, 2010, tornado outbreak are now memorialized at the rebuilt Lake Township building and at a park and gazebo next to it.
