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‘The Wire’ star’s son found unconscious after being thrown 300 feet during a tornado

Actor Tray Chaney says his son “is in this hospital fighting & me and my wife have not and will not leave his side.”

Rachel Dobkin
in New York
Friday 30 May 2025 11:41 EDT
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‘The Wire’ actor’s son is in critical condition after being thrown by tornado that destroyed their home.

The son of “The Wire” star Tray Chaney was found unconscious after he was thrown around 300 feet during a tornado in Georgia on Thursday.

Chaney, known for his role as Poot on the HBO show, appeared emotional in a video posted on Instagram while standing beside what remains of his now leveled home. He told fans: “Cherish life as much as you can.”

Chaney’s son was in critical condition on Friday morning, according to 11Alive.

“At 3 o’clock today, in a split second, my house is gone,” Chaney said. The actor said his son “was thrown 300 feet out his room.”

"The Wire" actor Tray Chaney's son, Malachi Chaney, was found unconscious after being thrown 300 feet during a tornado that hit Georgia on Thursday
"The Wire" actor Tray Chaney's son, Malachi Chaney, was found unconscious after being thrown 300 feet during a tornado that hit Georgia on Thursday (Tray Chaney/Instagram)

Thursday started as a “beautiful day” for Chaney and his 18-year-old son, Malachi Chaney, the actor said. That changed in an instant when a tornado ripped through Chaney’s neighborhood in Locust Grove, about 40 minutes southeast of Atlanta.

“I was sitting on my bed and I heard the wind and I felt everything,” he added.

In a follow-up post, Chaney wrote he “was unconscious on the ground with my face in the mud with my parts of my house on top of me. I woke up in a panic crawled from under my house screaming my son's name out.”

Chaney said his neighbors helped find his son who was found knocked out in the woods behind his house.

Chaney got emotional standing next to his leveled home, telling fans, “Cherish life as much as you can”.
Chaney got emotional standing next to his leveled home, telling fans, “Cherish life as much as you can”. (Tray Chaney/Instagram)
Chaney told local news his son is in the ICU with broken ribs and a fractured facial bone
Chaney told local news his son is in the ICU with broken ribs and a fractured facial bone (Tray Chaney/Instagram)

Chaney told 11Alive his son is in the intensive care unit in hospital with broken ribs and a fractured facial bone.

“Malachi is in this hospital fighting & me and my wife have not and will not leave his side. I can't get myself together right now I wish it was me that was in ICU rather than him,” Chaney wrote on Instagram.

The tornado damaged at least 13 structures, and destroyed two, including Chaney’s home, local news reported.

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