After being trapped in a tornado last week while driving, a college student is thankful to be alive.
On Friday, May 16, Mya Grimes, a rising senior at Jackson State University in Mississippi, was travelling to her birthplace of St. Louis when a tornado ripped through the city and tossed her out of her vehicle.
According to , the storm caught up to the 20-year-old college student just as she was about to arrive at her house.
“I really thought that was my last moment,” she told the outlet.
According to Grimes, the tornado caused her car’s windows to break and the driver’s side door to open. She claimed to be wearing a seat belt, yet she was thrown out of the car and “slid down the street 40 yards.”
According to local station KMOV, the student spoke with her father before the storm hit her, and he advised her to exercise cautious but to return home if possible. Additionally, she contacted Tina Grimes, her mother, but her phone disconnected.
“When I answered the phone, I just wasn’t prepared for what I heard on the other end,” Tina told the outlet. After asking her daughter what was going on, to her terror, her daughter replied, “‘It’s taking me.’ “
“My car started spinning in circles and spinning in circles, and I was just literally terrified and holding on to my steering wheel for dear life,” Mya told KSDK, an NBC affiliate. “The door opened and I flew out of my car.”
As the gusts persisted, the student said that she managed to hold onto a light pole.
Jackson State University’s interim president, Dr. Denise Jones Gregory, told PEOPLE that Mya’s bravery as an athlete and student leader “in the face of this storm is truly inspiring.”
“When I spoke with Mya the next morning, I was deeply grateful to hear her voice,” said Gregory. “At Jackson State, we are a family, and we will continue to stand with her as she heals and shares her story.”
According to Mya’s Instagram post about her “near-death experience,” the paramedic she was able to flag down later informed her she was “lucky to be alive.”
“I have gashes from the glass and sliding down the street,” Mya wrote alongside images of the damage to her car. Fortunately, despite some minor injuries, she was otherwise unharmed.
She continued by saying that she now views “any moment could be our last” as a result of the tragedy.
On May 16, an EF3 tornado made landfall in Clayton, Missouri, and proceeded into the northern regions of St. Louis, according to the National Weather Service. Winds of up as 152 miles per hour were recorded.
