3 days ago
Farrell couple tells story of survival and loss 40 years after deadly tornado
FARRELL, Pa. (WKBN) – This Saturday marks 40 years since one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. On May 31, 1985, a powerful F-5 tornado tore through parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, leaving a path of devastation and heartbreak in its wake.
One of the hardest-hit communities was Farrell, Pennsylvania, where lives were changed forever in just a matter of seconds.
Gerald 'Bugs' Multari survived the storm, but lost a dear friend.
Multari keeps a trained eye on the sky these days because he knows just how quickly things can change.
'It was seconds, it really was. It couldn't have been more than half a minute or so, it was gone,' he said.
A spring day in 1985 that turned deadly, the violent tornado outbreak ripped across the area. Forty years later, the scars remain etched into the hearts of people, like Multari, who survived.
'There were no tornado sirens whatsoever,' he said.
Multari and his wife, Kathy, were cheering on their son at a Little League game that day when the sky darkened and the storm rolled through.
He threw himself on top of his children, shielding them with a metal sign. Kathy rode out the storm in the concession stand.
'All you saw was debris flying out of the top,' Multari said.
David Kostka, affectionately known as 'Davey,' was a longtime friend of the Multaris, coaching third base that day for his son's team.
Kostka was killed by the storm. A memorial at the corner of Roemer Boulevard and Park Avenue now honors his life and sacrifice.
'It's comforting but also sad. It looks like he's looking right at you,' Kathy Multari said.
The trauma ran deep as the family struggled to cope with the loss.
'Our daughter had to have counseling afterwards, just with the tornado and that was her first close death that she experienced, because he was like an uncle to our kids,' Kathy Multari said.
This quiet tribute is a spot Gerald Multari has visited frequently in the years since Kostka's death.
'I passed that every day and I would speak to him. I told him I loved him, and missed him and everything,' he said.
This weekend marks 40 years since the sky opened up over Farrell but the time hasn't erased those memories — it's just given them space to remember.
'I cried, I think we all did,' Multari said. 'You just can't get over it. You just can't get over that.'
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