EF1 tornado confirmed in Vandalia

The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF1 tornado was responsible for storm damage in Vandalia that injured 10 people Thursday night.

The tornado had maximum winds near 110 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Serivce. The path of the tornado was estimated to be about 50 yards wide. The tornado touched down around 11:30 p.m.

A drive-thru was destroyed and a restaurant suffered significant damage when a severe storm moved through Vandalia late Thursday.

B Jay's Drive Thru at 771 East National Road was destroyed due to the high winds that moved through between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.

The Fricker's restaurant located across a parking lot on Foley Drive also suffered damage. Those inside reported windows being blown out of the restaurant.

"All of a sudden the windows started blowing out. Power went out, it was nuts," said Sage Lairson, of Vandalia, who was inside Fricker's when the storm hit. Several women inside the sports bar had blood on their faces, Lairson said.

Rich Hopkins, spokesman for the City of Vandalia, said there were 10 injuries and two people taken to Good Samaritan Hospital were they were treated and released. All the injuries occurred at the Fricker's.

A neighborhood near the businesses affected by the storms also saw significant damage with six to eight families being forced from their homes.

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