KY couple hospitalized with critical injuries after clinging together in tornado
Paul and Gail Cline, a retired Laurel County couple, are being treated in a local hospital for serious injuries, including for amputations of opposite arms, after the two clung to each other when a powerful, EF-4 tornado destroyed their home Friday night.
Taylor Baker, the couple’s niece, is raising money for the Clines, who lost their home and both vehicles in the destruction wrought by the massive twister.
Speaking to the Herald-Leader Wednesday morning, Baker said her uncle’s condition is improving, but her aunt remains “touch and go” and is breathing with the support of a ventilator.
Baker said her uncle, experiencing the early signs of dementia, has struggled to grasp what they experienced Friday night as 170 mph winds tore their generational home to pieces. Baker said the home was originally owned by her great-grandparents. Before retiring, Baker said her uncle Paul was a truck driver and her aunt Gail worked at a bank.
“They’ve lost just absolutely everything they’ve worked their whole lives for,” Baker told the Herald-Leader.
The road to recovery will be long and hard for the Clines. Baker said both will need therapy to learn how to function with one arm, and Gail Cline is battling other serious injuries, including a collapsed lung, multiple broken ribs, among other injuries.
“They’re going to have medical bills on top of medical bills,” Baker said.
Baker credited her aunt’s survival to the quick thinking of their neighbor, Justin Gray. According to Baker, Gray responded to Gail Cline’s screams for help, fashioned a tourniquet with a cord and went to get help from some men with off-road vehicles nearby.
“He is the reason that she is even alive right now. Because he thought fast,” Baker said of Gray.
The Herald-Leader reached out to Gray via a Facebook message, but did not immediately receive a response Wednesday. Baker said the Cline’s neighbors also lost their home and said the family has a fundraiser on GoFundMe.
The tornado wrought heavy damage to the neighborhood near the local airport, Baker said.
Baker said her own home escaped damage that night. A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured the tornado, nearly a mile wide, cutting a path through the county. She had been in touch with her aunt, but stopped receiving messages after the tornado hit the Clines’ neighborhood.
“They really need prayers right now,” Baker said of her uncle and aunt. “We’re just really wanting her to pull through, but they’re also going to need support, you know, financially, to have somewhere to go.”
This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 3:15 PM.