Giant Farmstand 'Tomato' Sent Flying During Tropical Storm: Video

RIVERHEAD, NY — On a day when residents had little to laugh about, a video of a giant tomato rolling across Riverhead farm fields provided a much-needed dose of levity.

According to Wading River resident Daniel Buckley, he was driving along Sound Avenue in Riverhead when he saw the huge tomato, which he said had clearly blown away from a local farm stand during Tropical Storm Isaias.

The storm brought winds of more than 78 mph to the area and left scores of downed trees and more than 300,000 without power across Long Island.

One thing was for sure: Long Islanders needed a good laugh. And they were thrilled with the tomato break. "Thanks for sharing that," one woman wrote. "Hilarious."

"The laugh is the best!" another said.

Police initially said they had no information regarding the runaway salad fixin'. But later on Tuesday, Jeff Rottkamp of Rottkamp's Fox Hollow Farm in Calverton, said the errant tomato was his.

When asked how it felt to see his tomato take flight, Rottkamp laughed: "It felt like a scene from the movie 'Twister!'" And the saga ended happily: "We got it back," he said.

Buckley laughed when he saw the tomato rolling by. "I said to my wife Karen, “Well, you don’t see that every day. Only in 2020!”

(Video courtesy Daniel Buckley)