Severe winds cause major damage in Sanger, 79-year-old woman dies from injuries

SANGER, Texas - The National Weather Service says preliminary analysis indicates the damage from Sunday evening was caused by straight-line winds, and not a tornado. 

Neighbors tell FOX 4, a 79-year-old lady, who lived in a now overturned RV, was inside with her dog when the severe weather came through Sanger on Sunday.

She had to be pulled from the RV and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

What we know:

Some of the damage is still left behind by the severe weather event on Sunday evening.

Some RVs at the Denton North KOA at McClain's Longhorn RV Park were knocked on their sides, and a few were knocked upside down.

During a day of cleanup and mourning after a powerful thunderstorm pushed through, a reminder of the humanity in all of us.

A single bouquet of flowers lies on the car of a 79-year-old woman, her RV just a few feet away, flipped on its side. 

The quietness is a stark difference to the night before after she was pulled out of her RV. 

The City of Sanger confirms she died in the storm. 

"It's a whole new world for that dog."

What they're saying:

Two strangers made their way to Sanger from Grayson County hoping to help after having lived through a very similar experience. Little did they know the extraordinary way they would be able to help after quiet barks could be heard coming from the woman’s RV.

"Her dog was still in the camper, scared to death, came over trying to save it. He wasn't quite able to, so he had us hop in and fish him out," said Chris Johnson.

"And to see those things in perspective, this could happen any day to anybody. Unfortunately, it happened to her so, God willing, we know she's up in heaven being taken care of now."

One of the men crawled into the tipped-over RV while the other tried to coax it out. 

"Oh, yeah, that thing was terrified. It was hiding, and the moment I was able to finish petting it, it calmed down a little bit, gave me a little bit of a growl, but it's fine. And it went all over the place, on the floor too. So poor thing, it's terrified," said Johnson.

The two men told FOX 4 that the elderly neighbor said he would be taking care of the dog that would be rescued.

"I think, when the chaos happens that we've got, we've got some people that aren't, aren't afraid, and things that need to get done, whether, whether it's safe or not," said Zach Thompson.

"It's a lot for me, puts in perspective that even an animal is, I mean, it's terrified. Everything's literally flipped upside down, and its owner is gone. You know, it's going to be a whole new world for that dog, and it doesn't even know it yet."

Surviving the storm: A neighbor's perspective

Dig deeper:

James Scranton Sr. and his wife got caught in the community laundry room. He took this cell phone video of the storm.

"I’m praying for the best. I’m praying for her. I’m praying for her family. I’m praying for all these people. He lost his home. This is where he lives."

"It just broke loose. It was hailing and windy. The door sucked open. So, I went to look out, and you could hear tin rattling. Everything that tore off is coming apart, and then a little camper flipped and slid along the side," said Scranton Sr.

Local perspective:

Candice Rivera considers herself lucky. Her RV suffered little damage, but managed to stay upright as powerful straight-line winds pushed through the City of Sanger on Sunday evening.

"Working from home, the skies looked like this and all of a sudden the cloud came down, and it was just like five minutes, and it was just bad, really bad," said Rivera.

Widespread damage across Sanger

Big picture view:

There were nearly 45 reports of damage across the area — with at least 20 structures considered "destroyed" or suffering major damage.

At the RV park in Sanger, a total of five RV’s flipped over.

Across I-35, several large warehouses, including this Walmart Distribution Center were damaged.

There’s a big hole in the side of one of the buildings.

According to a city spokeswoman, the Sanger Fire Department responded to 35 emergency calls related to the storms.

FOX 4 viewers shared numerous cell phone videos that showed the hail, wind and rain pounding their homes and properties.

In one video, a family can be seen making a run for their closet when the wind really starts picking up.

"It was chaotic. It was really just chaotic. And as I’m coming out today, I’m seeing more and more damage. We didn’t see yesterday," said Scranton Sr.

What's next:

We tried to get more information about the woman rescued from the RV, but a City of Sanger spokeswoman would only say that she was unresponsive when paramedics reached and that they performed CPR on her on the way to the hospital.

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