{"id":273954,"date":"2026-05-01T03:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T03:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/273954\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T03:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T03:55:10","slug":"north-texas-neighbors-credited-with-saving-mans-life-as-ef2-tornado-destroys-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/273954\/","title":{"rendered":"North Texas neighbors credited with saving man’s life as EF2 tornado destroys homes"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the middle of widespread destruction across North Texas<\/a>, one Wise County<\/a> man is crediting his neighbors with saving his life.<\/p>\n

Ewduin Perez says a last-minute decision to leave his trailer and shelter with Connie and Jesse Gonzales spared him from an EF2 tornado that tore through their neighborhood \u2013 a storm that also killed a nearby neighbor.<\/p>\n

“I’m really grateful. Grateful to them. And, you know, it’s by the grace of God,” Perez said.<\/p>\n

Perez had been inside his trailer, finishing dinner as hail fell, when the Gonzaleses urged him to come over and wait out the storm. Within minutes, the tornado hit.<\/p>\n

“I would have stayed in my camper\u2026 ignoring the hail. I wouldn’t be here,” he said.<\/p>\n

Sheltering as the storm hit<\/p>\n

The three took cover in a bathroom, praying as the storm tore through their homes.<\/p>\n

“I was just praying. Please, dear God, help. Help us,” Connie Gonzales said.<\/p>\n

The tornado ripped roofs from houses, punched through walls, and hurled Perez’s trailer across the property.<\/p>\n

“This is where my trailer was\u2026 right here\u2026 and now it’s way over there,” Perez said.<\/p>\n

Losses mount across community<\/p>\n

Moments later, the reality set in.<\/p>\n

“I just can’t believe it. Just a few more minutes, and I wouldn’t be here talking to you,” he said.<\/p>\n

Perez lost nearly everything in the storm. But another family suffered an even deeper loss. Their father, Juan Madrid, was one of two people killed. They lived in a mobile home directly next to Perez’s trailer.<\/p>\n

“It hit me really hard\u2026 thinking of the good times and the help that he provided me as a neighbor. He was a great man,” Perez said.<\/p>\n

Recovery begins after devastation<\/p>\n

Across North Texas, communities are now beginning the long process of recovery. Another tornado in Mineral Wells left homes and buildings in ruins.<\/p>\n

“Other people have lost a lot, and some have lost even more\u2026 we have them in our hearts too,” Connie Gonzales said.<\/p>\n

Despite the devastation, the Gonzaleses say they are focused on rebuilding \u2013 together.<\/p>\n

“I think God puts you here for a reason\u2026 to help people and do good things. I think that was one of those things \u2014 to get Ewduin over here,” Jesse Gonzales said.<\/p>\n

Neighbors become family<\/p>\n

What began as a simple act between neighbors is now something more.<\/p>\n

They call each other family.<\/p>\n

In:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the middle of widespread destruction across North Texas, one Wise County man is crediting his neighbors with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[430,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-273954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-north-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}