Journalist caught in deadly twister shows bloodied face after lucky escape

A storm-chasing journalist reporting on the deadly tornados tearing through parts of the U.S. got a little too close to the story when he was injured as his car was picked up by fierce winds and hurled through the air.

Nick Sortor, who co-hosts The Roundtable Show podcast and has previously appeared as a correspondent on Tucker Carlson‘s show, shared shocking photos from the scene on Friday with his 103,000 followers on Twitter.

One picture showed blood pouring down his face, while others detailed the damage to his “totaled” Jeep, with broken glass and other debris littering his front seat after the horrifying smash in Tennessee.

“I truly believed I was going to die at the moment my car was picked up and tossed off the road by this massive tornado in Tennessee,” he wrote in the post, below.

The reporter revealed he had tried to send an earlier tweet warning residents of the dangers immediately after the accident, but had been “unable” to post it. It was not clear whether he was unable to do so due to his injuries, his phone being damaged, or poor cell reception during the storm. But he posted a screengrab of that failed message, which contained the shot of his bloodied face and read: “IF YOU’RE IN WESTERN TENNESSEE GET OUT OF THE WAY. TORNADO INBOUND.”

Sharing that screengrab, he wrote: “I truly appreciate everyone’s words of support. It means more than you know. I attempted to post this immediately after the tornado to serve as a dire warning, but I was unable. My Jeep is totaled, but that’s nothing compared to the lives ruined here.”

Newsweek has reached out to Sortor for further information and comment.

Earlier in the day, Sortor, who is usually based in Lexington, Kentucky, had tweeted that he was en route to Arkansas as a mass casualty incident was declared in the state after a massive tornado touched down near Little Rock. Hundreds of people were feared injured when tornados ripped through the region, with videos capturing the size and scale of the twisters yesterday.

Meanwhile, one music fan was killed and 28 others were injured when the roof of a theater collapsed in strong winds in Belvidere, Illinois, on Friday evening during a heavy metal concert.

The grim tornado death toll continues to grow across the U.S., with ABC News reporting that 11 people had been confirmed killed, with dozens injured, across 5 states.

The U.S. is hit by more tornadoes than any other country, with 1,200 a year on average.