Santo said they were blown back by the wind and she spun to the floor. Santo said she started crawling toward a restroom where her colleague had sought shelter.
"It was like I was in water. And it was loud, yet it was silent, and it was fast, yet it was slow-motion," Santo said.
"I never thought the walls would stay in place. I thought the building was coming down," Santo said. "It felt like it was going. Then all of a sudden it was over."
After the wind subsided, the two smelled natural gas, caused by a ruptured line. They collected their belongings and evacuated the building.
The roofs of the businesses were damaged, and the concrete block wall on the back of the mini-plaza also was damaged.
The construction trailer had been sitting in a lot on the south side of Walden Avenue. The two men inside, Harry and Gregory Chamberlain of Vermont, were taken to ECMC for treatment.
Information on their injuries and conditions wasn't available late Friday.
Roman, a 27-year-old trucker from Michigan, was hauling auto parts.
"We've three eyewitnesses who saw the truck headed westbound in the center lane, and they saw a tornado touch down, lift it up and flip it over," said Menna, the trooper. "It ended up on the jersey barrier."
"He seems fine. He really does," Menna said. "I'm shocked."
Another trooper who had been in the area saw a dark cloud directly above the truck, Menna said.
Menna said Roman told her at the hospital: "I'd rather be in my truck than here."
Mary Jane Pieczynski and daughter, Traci, were leaving the Walden Galleria when they saw the tornado behind Kmart across the street.
"It's scary to see this. You could see stuff flying around it," Mary Jane Pieczynski said.
Traci Pieczynski said the sky looked like smoke rising from a grill.
Stores in the area had warned their customers of the bad weather. Employees of Target were notified and advised shoppers to stay in the back or middle of the store - away from the front windows and glass doors, said manager Michael Pollutro.
Cheektowaga Town Supervisor Dennis H. Gabryszak was among those at Town Hall who watched the tornado through office windows.
Gabryszak said he saw a black funnel cloud less than half a mile away. "It was kind of weird, standing in the office and watching it move," he said.
Gabryszak said it wasn't moving quickly and started to break up after three or four minutes.
According to the National Weather Service, a trailer had been tipped on its side outside a warehouse on Broadway, and warehouse roofs were damaged in the Broadway-Union Road area.
Wilhelmina Pilarz saw the tornado shortly before a tree and two signs fell in front of her Como Park Boulevard restaurant, Banquets by Adam's Ltd. and Dining Lounge. Hail the size of cherry tomatoes had been falling, she said.
"I heard that train sound, and I knew that means a tornado. I called to my husband and as soon as it came out of my mouth, the tree came down and the sign came down. Then my husband said, "Hit the ground,' " she said.
The 40- or 50-year-old tree fell in front of the restaurant, knocking down a sign on the roof and bending some gutters. Another sign in front of the restaurant also was knocked down.
At the mobile home development, three homes suffered significant structural damage, Niziol said.
There was significant damage to trees along the tornado's path, Niziol said.
The last time a tornado struck Cheektowaga was in July 1987.
Niziol said he and Levan plotted the two for comparison Friday.
"It was not just a coincidence," said Steve McLaughlin of the Weather Service. "That seems to be where the lake breezes intersect the best. "
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060701/1061736.asp
Adrian Roman didn't know what hit him.
