OWASSO, Okla. — Sean and Tricia Wilson have lived real-life Twister movies with multiple sequels by chasing them for more than 20 years in their Chevy Trailblazer, nicknamed the Storm Blazer.
The couple chased an EF-5 tornado on May 22, 2011 that turned out to be the deadliest in a lifetime.
WATCH: Owasso tornado chasers recount 2011 Joplin tornado in new NBC series
"It was just complete chaos," Sean Wilson said. "You could see cars being tossed."
The Owasso chasers said the trail of disaster instantly turned their chasing and data-recording trip into a search and rescue after finding several injured children.
"I said to just put them in our SUV," Trisha Wilson said. "And they were young kids (that we found). I think the youngest was maybe 12 at the time, and his older sister. The little boy's head was spliced from ear to ear. And he had broken his jaw so many times he couldn't speak. And his sister had the biggest head bump I've ever seen."
With first responders largely at the mercy of the wreckage, the Wilsons transported 35 people to the last hospital not destroyed by the tornado.
The Wilsons chronicle their experience in an episode of the new NBC series, "Survival Mode", which aired July 7. Click here for how to watch.
Sean Wilson said the Joplin tornado aftermath was akin to a war zone.
"It's pure survival mode," he said. "It's just reality. I mean it's something that actually happened that could happen to any of us."
Like the title of the show, it's survival and safety that the semi-retired storm chasers choose to teach the public 14 years later, especially to students in Green Country.
"I write on the board what they need (to have in a tornado shelter)," Trisha Wilson said. "And I say, 'You need a helmet.' Because I can tell you, there's a little boy who is alive today and functioning because he had a helmet on."
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