Racing through the aftermath of the tornado on Sunday night, Kori Roberson Jr. struggled to reach his east Norman home as police barricades and storm damage flooded the area.
The road blocks forced the junior OU defensive lineman to drive around to a backstreet behind his house where he remembers a light pole falling approximately 10 yards in front of his vehicle as he raced to get to his 24-year-old sister, Bellodgia.
When he finally got into the house he shares with her it was complete chaos.
“I was like, ‘Whoa,’” Roberson told the OU Daily on Wednesday. “There were bricks and everything everywhere. Our water line popped, our (electrical circuit) breaker came off our house. It was a really quick and shocking time.”
As would become widely known Monday online, leading to the creation of a GoFundMe that’s since generated $17,079 in donations, the EF2 storm, one of nine twisters that touched down in the state Sunday, totaled their home.
Before jumping fences to get to his house, Roberson was studying with a friend at The Ave at Norman Apartments, a student living complex 0.5 miles away just south of Highway 9. Once the storm started to pick up, he knew he had to get to his sister.
Rain poured, dust blew and strong wind howled as Roberson battled the elements of a storm on his trek home that would normally take him just a few minutes to drive the two miles.
“You could feel the wheel almost want to turn while I was driving,” Roberson told the Daily. “Stuff was flying everywhere, cops were trying to help people get out, saying, ‘You can't come in here, you can't do this.’”
Perhaps the wildest thing Roberson — who is 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds — experienced was the falling light pole.
“That was a very scary moment because I mean, that could have been my life on the line,” Roberson recalled. “But I was still worried about my sister, so I had to hurry up and put the car in reverse and go all the way around. She’s been really close to me my whole life. As my older sister, she’s always told me right from wrong, that’s just how she is and I love her to death.”
More than 300 donors have shown Roberson love in return, including Sooners coach Brent Venables, who gave $2,000, and USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman winner and former OU standout, who contributed $1,000.
Current OU players, including fellow defensive lineman Marcus Stripling and linebacker Shane Whitter, helped clear debris from Roberson’s yard Monday morning.
Family helps family. Hey Soonernation @lil_kojo9 house got hit last night. Please send prayers and a helping hand. pic.twitter.com/tJEY15muVC
— TheStripWay (@stripling_de) February 27, 2023
After hearing the train-like sound, Roberson and his sister sheltered in a bathtub until around 9:30 p.m. when the winds started to die down. When they exited the tub, the power was out, they smelled gas and heard water spraying. The two stepped outside and saw Bellodgia’s room was nearly gone, their roof was missing and there was damage to Roberson’s truck.
“It was really bad and thank God that I was able to get there in time for my sister,” Roberson said. “Thank God everybody made it out safely and my whole neighborhood was fine. Everybody came and checked on us. We checked on everybody, everybody was helping each other but we couldn't move from where we were because of all the power lines so everybody had to stay the night at their (destroyed) houses.”
Before the mad dash to get to his sister, Roberson was enjoying a study night with a few friends, including OU rowing junior Lale Edil at her apartment.
Edil was doing laundry when the initial tornado sirens sounded. Seconds later, Edil peeked outside her cracked-open window and saw objects flying.
Soon, Roberson and his friends started receiving emergency alerts on their phones.
“We all snapped,” he said.
Edil darted to her roommate’s bathroom, seeing much of her outdoor staircase paneling ripped apart on her way, where she sheltered with Roberson, their friends and her two dogs in the center of the apartment.
“After the first big wave came through, we ran down the stairs and I saw the paneling ripped off of the fence,” Edil told the Daily. “And I opened the door and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
The roof outside Edil and her roommates' apartment was torn to shreds.
Damage at The Avenue in Norman
Storm damage at The Ave at Norman Apartments.
While waiting the storm out from the bathroom, Roberson tried calling his sister, but got no response after his first two attempts. When Roberson finally reached Bellodgia on the third call, her response prompted him to act fast.
“Kori, my window just caved in,” Bellodgia told her younger brother.
Roberson bolted from the bathroom to his car. When he first stepped outside, Roberson was met with strong gusts of winds accompanied by heavy rain.
“The first time I felt (the storm) was at my friend’s apartment,” Roberson said. “We saw her whole roof just rip off and insulation everywhere. I thought it was snowing outside.”
While Sunday marked Roberson’s first run-in with a tornado, the Houston native experienced Hurricane Harvey up close. While a 10-foot ravine surrounding the Roberson house shielded them from potential serious damages, he recalls devastation in areas around him, including his grandmother’s home.
“Other neighborhoods around us (had) water in their living rooms,” Roberson said of the 2017 natural disaster. “All the highways were cut off, you couldn’t drive anywhere, if you did your car probably got stuck in the water. It was pretty bad.”
After Kori, Bellodgia and their three dogs fell asleep in the middle of wreckage Sunday night in Kori’s room, they woke up to a community rebuilding effort and thousands of social media messages.
“It was wonderful,” Roberson said of the help he received. “I’m thankful (that) I have neighbors around me that care for me. My teammates came to help me clear everything out (of) my house. They brought me food, they (offered) me … support, ‘you alright? You can stay at my crib.’ I thank everybody for the support (and) checking up on my sister and I.
“It’s a wonderful feeling when you know people (have) your back.”
Senior sports reporter Louis Raser contributed to this story.
This story was edited by Austin Curtright.
