EUREKA, Missouri — Some startling moments for the nearly two dozen people at a Jefferson County event space for a wedding rehearsal. They quickly found themselves ducking for cover when storms came through Thursday evening.
"Everyone quickly rushed into the bathroom and we kind of waited it out there,” said Wedding Coordinator Annette Johnson.
She is planning the wedding for a local bride. They were inside of the event space at Brookdale Farms when the storms rolled in.
"Tried to get everyone lined up then all of a sudden the winds started, got a little dark,” she recalled.
Chairs started blowing outside moments before part of the roof ripped to the ground.
"We had babies inside. We had a lady in a wheelchair, got everyone to safety when part of the roof came off,” said James Vavak who manages the property.
The company's storage unit next door is now destroyed.
"Just extra farm equipment, stuff for our fall festival. it's a large storage building and just a little bit of everything is stored in that building,” he explained.
Authorities shut down a portion of Twin Rivers Road when a transformer fell onto the roadway.
“Please avoid the area. We still have possibly live power lines down and we'd hate for someone to touch the lines at this time,” said Deputy Chief William Stamberger of Eureka Fire.
As cleanup gets underway, owners of the event space are getting the roof tarped up in hopes the lucky couple can still exchange vows there on Saturday.
"We want to try to make this bride's day perfect,” Vavak said.
A building inspector was called out to make sure the event space is structurally sound.
Thursday evening crews went door to door. Stamberger says he’s not aware of any damage to nearby properties or any injuries.