BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — In Dec. 2021, 17 people died in the EF-3 tornado that hit Bowling Green. 12 of those who died lived on Moss Creek Avenue, among one of the hardest hit areas across the city, along with 31 W Bypass.
f you were to take a drive down 31 W Bypass today, it would be hard to tell who was affected by the tornado. The bypass is among the most heavily used roads in Bowling Green, and businesses are currently rebuilding or have moved.
A year ago, that wasn’t the case. Many were without roofs, walls, or even a place to return to. The bypass was also shut down for nearly a month after the tornado ripped through the town. That was what Jason Musser, a local automotive shop owner, was dealing with.
“It’s just one of those weird moments, and there’s no, you’re not going to work, it’s just this catastrophe to deal with instead,” Musser, owner of Musser Automotive, said.
We first introduced you to Musser on Spectrum News a few days after the tornado hit. Musser was picking up the pieces of his old shop that he opened in 2014 while on the hunt for a new one.
“I already had a loan to buy another shop in the works but we were on track to expand regardless, but it’s just all of a sudden we didn’t have a place to expand from,” Musser said.
Musser had no shop to return to after the destruction, meaning a year without work.
“I don’t think it’s good, especially for my son, to see his father not working every day,” Musser said. “Men need good examples of other men who get to work and do what they gotta do for their families and their communities, and I was not able to do that sitting around for almost a year.”
All the pieces came together in Oct. 2022. Musser Automotive would have a new place to call home.
“I focus on what we’re doing and making progress with what we have now and so as soon as we closed it was go time, and it’s been nonstop,” Musser said.
It’s a past that has stuck with Musser in a way. Of the 20 cars damaged at his last shop because of the tornadoes, some have even found a way to the new shop. With hopes to fix them up, but for now, all Musser can do is laugh.
“I mean, I think that’s all you can do. Just move on,” Musser said. “I mean, it’s a messed up situation. It could’ve been worse. Anytime you have a business, little things are always going to happen, but it could’ve been so much worse.”
Following the tornadoes, Jason Musser saw the devastation to not only cars at his shop but throughout the community. Musser is hoping to create a nonprofit to help people in need, who can’t afford auto repairs.