FORTH WORTH, Texas – Riley Leon, 16, was on his way home from a job interview when he got caught in the middle of a cyclone. The teen was driving a red pickup truck that has now been seen in a viral video flipping over on Highway 290 during a tornado in Elgin. Soon he will be traveling in a brand new truck courtesy of a North Texas Chevy dealership.
Bruce Lowrie Chevy in Fort Worth announced Thursday that they are giving Leon a 2022 Red Chevy Silverado to replace the one that was seen spinning like a top and damaged in the tornado.
Leon told NBCDFW that he was on his way home from Whataburger where he had gone for a job interview when he was ensnared in the tornado.
“I honestly didn’t know what to do, to grab onto the steering wheel or to start praying,” the 11th grade high school student said, according to the news outlet.
In what many observers thought was a manufactured video, Leon assured viewers it was the real deal.
The tornado pushed his Silverado on its side, then bounced it back upright, before he appeared to simply drive on.
“On the video, it looks like I drove off but in reality I didn’t,” he said. “I landed in the center of the road and I was just driving to get off the road.”
Leon reportedly was afraid to tell his family what happened because he didn’t want to scare them, but then video of the unique circumstances went viral and the evidence was there for everyone to see.
The sales manager at Bruce Lowrie said they felt bad for the teen who had to go through such a shocking experience, leading them to gift Leon the new truck, NBCDFW reported
Leon will take possession of the new pickup in Fort Worth on Saturday. … And the job interview? … He was hired! Now he’ll be able to drive his shiny new red ride to Whataburger on when he begins work Monday.
