Del. official's wife hurt in Va. tornado where 2 died, 36 injured

• Around 8%3A45 a.m. there was a police scanner report of possibly five patients seeking help at Cherrystone Campground%2C where there reports of overturned campers and a fallen tree on a tent.

Two people were killed and at least 36 injured -- including the wife of a New Castle County official -- when a tornado swept through the Cherrystone Campground in Cheriton on Virginia's Eastern Shore on Thursday morning, officials said.

A tree fell on a tent at the campground, killing a couple from Jersey City, New Jersey — Lord Balatbat and Lolabeth Ortega, both 38, Virginia State Police said. Their 13-year-old son, who was in another tent nearby also hit by a tree, is in a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The category EF1 tornado produced maximum winds of 100 miles per hour, overturning trailers at the campground. Accompanying hail and wind also damaged fields and ripped off limbs that crashed through homes and cars.

A tractor-trailer was overturned on U.S. 13, with the driver suffering minor injuries.

"It was definitely blown over," Virginia State Police spokesperson Corrine Geller said, adding of the driver, "He saw the funnel cloud."

Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital in Nassawadox, Virginia, treated 15 adults and 11 children after the tornado, according to spokesman Peter Glagola. Of that number, one adult was undergoing surgery; one was transferred to Medical College of Virginia in Richmond; and 13 adults were treated and released.

Dave Carpenter Jr., New Castle County's coordinator of emergency management, was vacationing with his wife Shelly and their son and daughter at the campground when the storm struck about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

"Carpenter contacted Director of Public Safety Joe Bryant to brief him of his situation," said Antonio M. Prado, director of communications for the county. "Unfortunately, his wife suffered a dislocated hip and a fractured hipbone after their trailer was flipped over," Prado said.

Shelly Carpenter was initially treated at a Virginia hospital but has since been transferred to Christiana Hospital in Stanton.

"As for Dave, he said his back was sore after the incident but that seemed to be the extent of things for him. We were sorry to hear of his wife's injury but glad to hear that his family was alright," Prado said in an email. He said the Carpenters' children were unharmed.

Geller said the tornado came off the bay from the southwest corner of the campground and cut a "V-pattern" through the facility where more than 1,300 people were staying. Geller said "deputies and troopers went to every tent and camper to make sure everyone was accounted for."

Two of the injured children were transferred from Shore Memorial to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk; one child was admitted; and eight children were treated and released.

Most of those being treated at Nassawadox suffered broken bones, cuts or lacerations, while the more seriously injured suffered head injuries or internal injuries, Glagola said.

Eastville volunteer firefighter Brittney Eder told The Associated Press, "It came in real quick. The sky turned jet black."

Eder said she left the campground before the full force of the storm hit.

Eder's father, Fire Chief David Eder, told her from the scene that the storm felled trees and flipped at least two campers.

Jordan Bertok tweeted two photos of damage at the campground, saying, "Just lived through a tornado."

The area was under a tornado warning from the National Weather Service until 9 a.m. after radar indicated a waterspout over the Chesapeake Bay.

U.S. 13 was littered with debris and hail that ranged from the size of a quarter to a golf ball, witnesses said.

The Coast Guard and Virginia Marine Police received a report of two vessels overturned in Oyster Bay, on the ocean side of Northampton County. The boaters were rescued by good Samaritans before the Coast Guard arrived, according to Petty Officer David Weydert. There were no injuries.

Rescue squads from Virginia Beach met Eastern Shore ambulances at the visitor's center plaza at the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to transport some of the injured.

Cherrystone Campground, founded in 1964, has 725 sites, including cabins, cottages and deluxe campers.

The campground earlier this month was named as one of three top family RV parks for 2014 by the Good Sam RV Travel Guide.

Joe Burbee with Bay Creek Golf Club in Cape Charles says there was lots of rain and lightning.

"We got it pretty hard here for 15-20 minutes," he said.

The golf course is about a mile from the campground.

13News Now viewer Linda Wenners Zaremski emailed a photo of large pieces of hail that fell at Marina Villages in Cape Charles.

"Debris was flying down the street – our chairs, beach balls. We lost power," she said.

Gannett-owned WVEC-13 contributed to this report.

Contact News Delivery Editor Jon P. Zaimes at (302) 324-2813 or jzaimes@delawareonline.com.