Like a scene from an action movie, a Fort Worth man dodged flying debris and barely escaped with his life as a marina collapsed around him during severe storms Sunday night.
Winds as strong as 60-70 mph ripped through the marina on the southern tip of Eagle Mountain Lake. Cellphone video showed the aftermath — docks folded in like an accordion and poles ripped from the ground.
Tony Mancil says he was doing repair work on a boat when the marina collapsed around him, trapping him beneath debris.
"One of the walkways that I was on lifted up and did this, and I slid down into the water," Mancil said as he recalled the moments he thought would be his last. "I managed to get in a position where I could shove from the dock I was on and grab the vertical pole over here on my left. That was the moment where I thought, 'OK, we're gonna make it.'"
"When I was dangling in the water, that's when I wasn't too sure," said Mancil, who slipped into the waist-deep water just as a marina roof structure collapsed on top of him.
Mancil made it to shore with just some cuts on his hands and a slice to the shin. "I've got a cool new scar," Mancil said.
The boat Mancil was repairing was destroyed — the damage being a sobering sight. "Pretty eye-opening, I feel very lucky," he said.
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Regulars at the marina say a few dings and dents are typical in the lake life. But no one was prepared for what happened Sunday night.
Bruce Fisk took NBC 5 on his boat for a closer look at the damage.
"Oh it's super bad, it's demolished," he said of the marina.
More cellphone video shows how a house boat rocked into the dock at Augie's Sunset Cafe, located adjacent to the marina. "You never know how the lake's going to turn and people need to appreciate it a lot more than they do," said Chance Garrett, who manages the cafe.
It's the third Sunday in a row that severe weather has hit the lake.
