GARFIELD, Ark. — In the early hours of Sunday morning, Dave Oberly and his wife Diane woke up to a phone call no parent ever wants to receive.
"We thought it was a prank call and finally somebody on the other end of the line said no, no, no. This is not a prank call. This is about your son John. And he's been injured," Dave recounted.
The tornado warning sounded on John's phone just seconds before his home was hit.
"It picked up his travel trailer, turned it upside down and dropped it about 50 yards down the road. He was laying there in a ball with his dog, trying not to get sucked up into this tornado," Dave said.
So who called Dave and Diane?
In the midst of the storm, John walked barefoot on a broken ankle about 500 feet to the neighbors, who just happened to be on vacation. Luckily, they answered the video doorbell hundreds of miles away and called his parents.
The Oberlys rushed from Springdale to Garfield. As they reached John's street, downed trees blocked them from reaching their son.
"And all of a sudden, what we thought of as an angel showed up as this gentleman on the other side of all these trees," Dave said.
Jim Wilson, a Walmart associate and former EMT, says he was just on his way to work when a tree in the road stopped him.
"On the other side of that tree was the mom and dad of this individual. And they were frantically trying to get to their boy," Wilson explains.
Wilson guided Diane through the trees. Dave had to stay back because of a bad knee.
"Mom had flip flops, she was not prepared for going around and over and under trees. But she was determined. She was going to get there no matter what. Scrapes, bruises, a little bit of skin off her feet wasn't going to stop this lady," Wilson said.
And it didn't. Diane reached her son. Through the darkness, debris, and even downed power lines, Wilson guided them and the dogs a mile and a half to safety.
"It was a little chaotic. And it was like herding butterflies at a time. But it was okay. We just slow and steady got them home," Wilson said.
As for Dave, sheer appreciation.
"He left his own warm bed and his wife, and he ventured out into this storm. His selfless act just needs to be totally acknowledged and appreciated. We couldn't say more about his good work. It's incredible. It's like almost a miracle," Oberly says as his eyes begin to water.
John has returned home from the hospital and is recovering from a broken foot, deep lacerations, and a possible head injury.
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