Approximately 500 vehicles are thought to have been damaged at a Chevrolet and Toyota dealership in Jefferson City, Missouri due to a huge tornado.
The Kansas City Star reports that ,on Wednesday night last week, a tornado ripped through Jefferson City and caused carnage at the Riley Toyota Scion and Riley Chevrolet Built GMC dealership owned by Jay Schnieders.
While speaking with the media in the immediate aftermath of the natural disaster, Schnieders said that there were approximately 750 vehicles at the dealership at the time and roughly 500 of them were damaged. He estimated the repair costs to at least $15 million, while a relative figured it should be closer to $30 million.
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“I just can’t believe it. They were tossed around like toys,” Schneiders said, revealing that some vehicles had been tossed hundreds of feet across the dealership lot.
Shortly after the tornado ripped through, the dealership took to social media to confirm it will be “closed to all public and employees until further notice.” Scheniders told The Kansas City Star insurance assessors would inspect the damage before the company started to rebuilding the vehicles.
The tornado, which destroyed parts of Jefferson City last week, had peak wind speeds of 160 mph (257 km/h) and was nearly a mile (!) wide. Additionally, it is thought to have been on the ground for nearly 20 miles (32 km) and at least 20 people were taken to local hospitals to be treated for various injuries. A separate tornado in Golden City, Missouri also tore through the region on Wednesday evening and resulted in three casualties…
Just talked to the GM at Riley Chevy in Jefferson City. 500+ cars damaged or destroyed. @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/MUbWCdeUYL
— Steven Dial (@StevenDialFox4) May 23, 2019