Sherrodsville man credits God with saving his life

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By Carol McIntire, Editor

A Sherrodsville man says he is lucky to be alive after a tree fell on his travel trailer in the early morning hours of April 8.

Delmar Clark, who lives on a lot at the intersection of Elm and Hazelton streets, was lying in bed at the front of the trailer just after 12:30 a.m. when he heard a severe thunderstorm approaching.

“I was lying on the bed reading when I got the alert on my phone,” he said the next morning as neighbors arrived at the site to begin the cleanup process. “I heard the wind – it kept getting louder. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen (located in the midsection of the trailer). All at once, I was knocked against the refrigerator. Then something else hit on the other end. At first, I didn’t know what it was.”

Clark said he attempted to open the door and get out, but could only open it a small distance.

“I called 911 and told them I was trapped,” he said. “I was afraid of a fire starting and I couldn’t get out. I was in a panic.”

He was able to force the door open far enough to escape and ran across the street to his neighbor’s home.

The next morning, after the severity of the situation sank in, Clark, leaning against the bed of a truck, pointed to the end of the trailer where a limb – over three feet in diameter – had smashed the trailer nearly level with the frame.

“That’s where my bed was,” he said. “If I hadn’t gotten out of bed, I wouldn’t be here.

“I’m not a real religious man, but I’m a Christian, I believe in God. I can tell you standing here It was God who made me get up and out of bed. There’s no doubt about it.”

Neighbors helped cut up the tree the next morning and removed the trailer from the site. The American Red Cross was supplying lodging for Clark for a couple nights while a search was on for a new trailer.

Emergency Management Agency Director Tom Cottis said damage from the storm was most severe in Rose, Orange and Monroe townships and was caused by sheer winds of up to 70 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.