Tornado Survivor Meets ONG Worker Who Helped Rescue Her

Trapped under debris, Linda Cooper survived the tornado in Southeast Oklahoma City. On Monday she met with the Oklahoma Natural Gas worker responsible for her rescue.

Monday, May 11th 2015, 10:51 pm

By: News 9


Trapped under debris, Linda Cooper survived the tornado in Southeast Oklahoma City. On Monday she met with the Oklahoma Natural Gas worker responsible for her rescue.

Cooper is nearly deaf, but shared her account with News 9.

"Blackout. Blackout. Blackout," Cooper said

And then it hit.

"The wind was going this way, this way and this way," she said. "And boom. The sound. The pressure. I said, 'Oh, God if I have to go, let me go fast.'"

Linda didn't go. She stayed; stayed behind while everyone else took shelter or was eventually rescued. Linda stayed for hours.

"Wall came in," she said. "Debris came down from the ceiling."

The debris came down and buried her. In fact, the walls and ceilings of three different mobile homes came down and Linda was trapped.

"I screamed," she said

5/8/2015 Related Story: Oklahoma Natural Gas Worker Hailed A Hero After Storm Rescue

But as each hour passed, Linda's screams turned to faint cries in the night until Cory Scalf, an Oklahoma Natural Gas (ONG) worker, heard Linda calling for help and then alerted four Oklahoma City Police Officers who pulled Linda to safety.

"I told them to grab my wrists. They were strong," she said. "They were clearing the debris."

Linda almost didn't make it out if not for Cory.

"I'm just very thankful that she is alive and that we had a Mother's Day yesterday," her son said.

Linda escaped with no injuries, but she was shaken up about the ordeal. She lost her hearing aids in the tornado. A go fund me account has been set up in her name to help with purchasing new ones.

Learn how you can help Linda.

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