Florida waterspout rips mail truck open, scatters letters

TERRA CEIA, Fla., Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A waterspout that roared across a Florida bridge ripped open a U.S. Postal Service semi truck and scattered mail across the road.

Motorist Lee Dove, who posted his footage to YouTube, started taking video as the waterspout was forming around 9:45 a.m. Sunday near the south end of the Skyway Bridge in Terra Ceia and he kept recording as the wind funnel made its way across the bridge.

"I figured it would just stay in the water and dissipate, but then it hit land," Dove told WTVT-TV.

Dove was recording as the waterspout grabbed hold of a USPS truck, lifted it up into the air twice and then ripped it to pieces, scattering pieces of mail in all directions.

"It looked like a paper truck and it looked like an explosion. Papers were everywhere," Dove said.

The truck's driver, Randall Leaver, was not injured in the crash, authorities said.

State troopers and bystanders helped USPS workers recover some of the scattered mail.

The waterspout, which some reports indicated became a tornado before dissipating, also damaged equipment at a nearby construction site and flipped a small boat.

No injuries were reported from the waterspout.

Warning: Video contains profane language.