Tiverton Runner and Family Narrowly Escape Boston Marathon Bombing

An afternoon of triumph and celebration quickly transformed to one of chaos and terror for one Tiverton family after the bombings by the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Janna Tebbs of Tiverton pulled into downtown Boston on Monday afternoon just before 3 p.m. expecting to cheer her husband through the final leg the 26.2 mile Boston Marathon race. Instead, she was greeted with an eerie boom as she slid her car gear into park near Copley Square in downtown Boston.

"I was in the car with my toddler, 11-month-old - and mother-in-law and had just pulled up to the Copley Square area," said Tebbs in an email on Monday evening. "[We were] right around the corner from the explosions when we heard the blasts."

Tebbs and her family were hoping to greet her husband Adam, an Army Infantry officer who deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, at the finish line.

Instead Tebbs was confronted with several hours of worry and confusion as she searched and waited for word on her husband.

Adam Tebbs, as it turned out, was stopped short of finishing the marathon as he was roughly a half a mile away from the finish line when the twin explosions ocurred by the finish line at about 3 p.m. Three people were killed and more than 100 injuries - and counting - were reported.

Adam Tebbs was part of the third wave runners block. Tebbs took off at 10:40 a.m. and hit the half-way point 12:47 p.m. As a race participant, Adam didn't have a cell phone or any way of contacting his family after the explosions at the Boston Marathon.

"Several hours later we finally connected with Adam near Faneuil Hall and were able to make it out of the city," said Janna Tebbs. "But it was absolutely the most terrifying thing I have ever seen."

The Tebbs clan endured hours more of traffic to get out of Boston and back home to Tiverton, finally getting back to their house shortly after 7 p.m.

"We are all so happy and relieved to be together and safe," said Janna Tebbs. "I know many were not so fortunate, and I know many will be struggling to reconnect with loved ones amidst the chaos."