Teen shields little brother in ditch from strong winds, debris in St. Cloud

Pieces of neighbor's shed fly overhead

ST. CLOUD, Fla. – More than a dozen Central Florida homes were damaged Wednesday night during severe storms, which prompted some quick thinking from a teen who protected his younger brother.

[RELATED: Severe thunderstorms roll through]

About 12 homes were damaged in Polk County as strong storms bringing hail, wind and rain rolled through Central Florida.

The storms left a path of significant damage in St. Cloud, particularly along Kaiser Avenue.

"We were terrified, my adrenaline was going so quick, I didn't know what to do. First thing that came to mind, pick him up and take off running," said Jeremy Miller, 19, who grabbed his 10-year-old brother, Justin, threw him in a ditch, and laid on top of him, as pieces of the neighbor's shed flew over their heads.

"Everything was flying at us," said Justin.

Strong winds picked up the roof of their 14-foot-tall horse barn and plopped it down 30 yards from the horse it was covering.

"The skies got dark and the wind just picked up so loud, you couldn't hear anything. Trees started cracking. You couldn't hear anything," said Miller.

Three miles from Miller's home, in the Sweetwater Creek subdivision, glass windows were blown out, screens torn and fences ripped apart.

Trudy Cheadle, who lives next door to the Millers, said the oak tree outside her kitchen window split in half and barely missed her house. She's grateful the boys are OK.

"That was very brave of the older brother to step in and save the little brother," Cheadle said.

Meanwhile, in Longwood there were downed fences and tree limbs.

No injuries were reported.

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