Family survives near-death experience when tornado causes house to collapse on them

Wednesday, October 9th, an EF-2 tornado tore through the Mariner Sands Community in Port Salerno, ripping homes to shreds. One of those houses belonged to George Bustillo, who was pinned down when it collapsed. “I was, I was underneath that debris, I was underneath that beam,” Bustillo said, pointing to a spot in his debris-filled home. Bustillo, his wife, and their dog took cover inside their house. “It was one second, explosion, everything goes into the house, all the windows, everything, all the force of that tornado comes in," he recalled, "and the next second, the whole roof collapses on me, and I’m pinned.” He says neighbors helped get him out, with a jack propping up debris. “That’s got to be the only place in the whole house that I would’ve survived,” Bustillo remarked. Bustillo’s home of more than ten years is no more; debris thrown everywhere, rooms visible from the streets, and part of his roof is in the pool out back. “Very few walls stayed up,” he said, pointing to the front of his collapsed home. Bustillo not only lost his home but also his Harley-Davidson, damaged beyond repair, as were a lot of their possessions. “This was my man cave,” Bustillo shared, pointing to a couch in a room that collapsed. He's not dwelling on the loss of his home though, as he's just happy to be alive. “I have scratches and bruises and everything hurts, but I’m alive!" Bustillo told CBS12 News Tuesday. "My wife is alive and my dog is alive, I’m a lucky man, all I can do is move forward and have a good attitude.” Bustillo tells CBS12 News that he's hoping to rebuild, but for now, his family is renting in the area while they figure out their next moves. He’s sharing his story to help others impacted by this tragic storm. “Because it could help others and it could maybe give them some strength and hope and it’s never that bad, and so as long as you have life and love and friends and family, that’s what really matters,” Bustillo stated. Even though his family lost it all, he plans on counting October 9th - the day he nearly died - as a second birthday, and another chance to live. “From now on, I’m going to celebrate one of my birthdays one year from the tornado...just very lucky to be alive, and I’m very happy to be alive,” he said. “I built the bar, and the bar’s the only thing that survived in this whole thing. Very proud of that.” Afternoon cocktails out back behind Bustillo’s home are a regular neighborhood tradition, and even a tornado didn’t break that. _______________ Stay up to date with our social media: WPEC on Facebook:   / cbs12news   WPEC on Twitter:   / cbs12   Subscribe to WPEC on YouTube:    / @cbs12newswpec   WPEC Daily News Digest:    • Playlist   For more information, visit https://cbs12.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 561.844.1212 WPEC is a FL based station and a CBS Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. #CBS12NEWS #WPEC #WestPalmBeach #SouthFlorida