Woman survives tornado by hiding in bathtub

By Courtney Allen

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    DICKSON, Tennessee (WSMV) — Friday night marks one week since tornadoes started moving through Middle Tennessee, claiming four lives in our state.

Kimberley Watson in Dickson County said she rode out the storm as a tornado battered her home. She and her husband took shelter in the bathtub and said she is grateful to be here to tell the story.

“Absolute devastation,” Watson said. “We have lived here 23 years. All of the memories… Everything is gone.”

Watson vividly remembers the early hours of Saturday morning.

“My daughter sent me an alert,” Watson said. “She has a tornado app. She said that we were fixing to get hit.”

Watson jumped out of bed. Her husband grabbed a helmet, and they both got in the bathtub.

“As he stepped in, the door frame just slapped me in the face and collapsed against the side of me,” Watson said. “I almost blacked out. The thud was just unreal.”

Watson was pinned in the tub for what felt like a lifetime. She prayed.

“Please God keep watching over us and let us live and make it out of this,” Watson said.

The two finally did make it out thanks to the help of neighbors. Watson couldn’t believe what is left behind. She described her home on Murrell Road as a warzone. The mattress she was on just a couple minutes before the tornado was seen Friday far back in the woods. Their cars were crushed. Some sentimental items were lost.

“Deep down, I want our stuff back,” Watson said. “I want my baby books. I want my kids’ stuff. Our stuff, wedding photos… I want all that.”

Watson can’t help but think of the ‘what ifs’.

“My 1-year-old grandson was supposed to be with me,” Watson said. “About 7 p.m., I changed my plans and took him back home. That is all that is going through my head. What if he had been here? He would have been on that bed beside me.”

She also can’t help but think of the others.

“Now I am praying for all the others that didn’t make it out,” Watson said. “Kentucky was hit hard. A lot of places were hit harder. Some babies didn’t make it out. We did, and we are lucky.”

Watson was treated for a concussion and is now recovering with a black eye. She said it could have been a lot worse. “He has a reason we are here,” Watson said. “I don’t know what it is yet, but there is a reason I am still here.”

Watson said the biggest frustration is the fact that her insurance company has yet to come out. She hopes they come Saturday.

A GoFundMe has been setup for the family.

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