Drivers injured after semi-truck rolls over on Florida's Turnpike during tornado

A semi-truck driver and his father are thankful to be alive after a truck they were driving on Florida’s Turnpike rolled over multiple times during a tornado.

Boris Melnov told Scripps News West Palm Beach that he and his father were transporting a load of water from Texas to Florida. He said they were taking turns driving the truck and heading northbound on the Turnpike after dropping the water off in Boynton Beach — about 60 miles north of Miami.

RELATED STORY | Tips for building a kit to prepare for an emergency

Melnov said his father was driving, while he was in the passenger seat, when all of a sudden he could see the weather changing.

"We started to see the leaves starting to hit the truck and I told my father that I feel like a vacuum in my ears, and at the same moment, the truck started to roll over,” Boris Melnov said. “And I thought it was going to be one flip, but it started to roll and roll again."

Photo provided by family

Melnov and his father sustained injuries in the crash and were immediately transported to a local hospital to be treated.

"I have staples here, and I have stitches over here," he said. "Today, I find out there might be something here. We did a scan. They stitched my eye and did the scan and found some glass inside. We need to open it and then stitch it again. Little cuts here and there."

RELATED STORY | Dozens rescued following tornadoes that spawned from Hurricane Milton

Melnov said he was going to rest in the sleeper section of the truck before the tornado touched down but was told by authorities he would not have survived if he had been in that section.

He told Scripps News West Palm Beach that he was discharged from the hospital Friday evening but his father is still recovering in the hospital from head injuries.

This story was originally published by Tania Rogers at Scripps News West Palm Beach.