ST. LOUIS – Surrounded by destruction, Wayne Mason Sr. recalls hunkering down in his apartment on Bayard Avenue last Friday afternoon with his 21-year-old daughter as the tornado tore through.

“It was just real traumatic and then when it was over, I just started banging on people’s doors, making sure they were ok,” Mason said.

Mason then heard nearby cries for help.

“We heard him in the back. He was like, ‘I’m over here! I’m over here!’” Mason said.

The home at 1362 Bayard was reduced to a pile of bricks. Mason says he followed the sound of the man’s voice.

“I just started chucking the bricks and he raised his hand out. Got the bricks all the way down to his waist,” Mason said.

While Mason frantically cleared the rubble, he says the man began to call out for his wife.

“She was right by him in the back, but he didn’t know where she was at. He just kept saying, ‘Where’s my wife? Where’s my wife? She should be right here by me.’ But she never answered,” Mason said.

Mason flagged down a passing fire truck. The firefighters on board assisted in the search.

“I was looking for his wife. I was calling her name. ‘Ma’am can you hear me?’ Wasn’t no response. When they finally found her, the family showed up, and it was just real sad,” Mason said. “He didn’t want to leave in the ambulance because he didn’t want to leave his wife. He sat right there with her when they covered her with the sheet.”

The woman killed in this home on Bayard is one of four others who died in Friday’s tornado.

Another victim, Patricia Penelton, was inside Centennial Christian Church on Fountain Avenue when the roof caved in. She was 74.

“Miss Pat was again a selfless servant, a saint to the community. How I met her was serving! She had what was called a ‘God’s Café’!” Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard (Ward 10) said.

Juan Baltazar was crushed by a tree while sitting in his car on Grand Boulevard. He was a father of seven and a proud food truck owner. Baltazar was 48.

“Worked in construction and he also loves to do the food truck,” Nick Brown said. “He used to just do it certain weekends at food festivals or what not.”

Back on Bayard Avenue, Wayne Mason Sr. knows the path forward will be painful but he’s encouraging our community to push forward with positivity.

“You’ve got to stay strong, put God first and rebuild. Hopefully, you can rebuild. You’ve got to stay positive. Stay strong and stay together. Don’t nobody do that, ain’t nothing gonna happen,” he said.