SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Southfield native is rushing back to Michigan to get out of Hurricane Milton's path.
Anthony Bojanowski loaded up the car with his wife and three kids and began the trek from Winter Haven, Florida, to his grandmother's home in Canton.
Bojanowski told me when I spoke to him Monday night by Zoom that they were trying to get ahead of traffic but got delayed due to a crash ahead of them.
Hear more from Bojanowski in the video player below:
He told me after riding out Hurricane Ian when his wife was pregnant with their twin boys and being trapped due to flooding, he was not going to take any chances with Milton.
Bojanowski said he and his wife decided to leave after the storm quickly intensified to a Category 5.
“After (Hurricane) Helen had past, we knew that there was a disturbance going on in the Gulf of Mexico. We really didn’t think that it was going to be this effective toward our area… because rarely do we see hurricanes just shoot straight west to east,” Bojanowski said.
After seeing the predictions for the storm, the family decided it was best to leave the area.
“So I think when we got the initial outlook as to what the actual track of the hurricane was going to be, I think that put a little bug in our head like OK, maybe this could be something serious," Bojanowski said.
Milton started out as a tropical storm before strengthening to a Category 2 then Category 5 hurricane in just a few hours on Monday.
“All of a sudden today, we find out that it’s a Category 5 Hurricane — I think that’s what pushed us over the edge to want to leave now,” Bojanowski said, adding that the aftermath of a hurricane would be challenging with three young kids.
Bojanowski says he is worried about his grandparents who are in their 80s in Sarasota riding out the storm and other family members still in harm’s way.
