One of the people killed by the tornado that swept through Laurel County late Friday night was a longtime firefighter who likely lost his life trying to shield his wife from debris. Laurel County Deputy Fire Chief Terry Wattenbarger said Major Roger Leatherman, who was approaching his 40th anniversary with the department, was found on top of his wife Michelle in a field, where the twister had carried her.
“We can only imagine that she was also, if he was in the area, that she was verbal, and he went to the first person he located. It was her, or he may have known it was her, but and then laid down on top of her to protect her and was fatally injured.”
Wattenbarger said he’d known Leatherman since high school. After graduating, they each joined the Laurel County Fire Department as volunteers. He said he and all his colleagues are doing what their friend would want them to.
“To continue to serve the public, serve the community, put ourselves in harm's way, to protect others, and that's our goal, is just to continue doing the service that he did for his whole adult life.”
Michelle Leatherman was critically injured in the tornado and underwent spinal surgery Monday at UK Chandler Medical Center. Wattenbarger said Leatherman held several other public service roles in Laurel and Whitley counties.
