CHICAGO — Some Northwest Side residents are picking up the pieces after strong winds swept through Chicagoland on Tuesday, causing a tree to fall.
The large oak tree toppled over in an alley in Irving Park, crushing a car, and a garage and even knocking out power for some.
“It was a big tree. I don’t know how tall it was, but it was dead for years,” neighbor Jessica Villanueva said.
Neighbors say the incident, which unfolded around 11:30 a.m., reduced the garage behind a home on North Keeler to a pile of debris.
“I heard like a buzzing and then a bang and that’s when the lights went out,” Villanueva said.
Prashant Srivastava, who lives nearby, said his garage also had some holes, but it was his neighbor’s garage that took the brunt of the damage.
“I’ve never seen anything like this happen, I mean that garage is completely flattened by one tree,” Srivastava said.
Neighbors in the area detailed the moments when they heard the tree come tumbling down.
“We heard a big crack and a lightning strike which was probably the wire hitting the ground, and then bam, it was on my garage right there,” Srivastava said.
Villanueva runs a daycare several doors down and said they were able to make do for most of the day, but eventually had to have parents come pick up their children.
“It’s been hours with no power, and we don’t when it’s going to come back,” Villanueva said.
ComEd crews worked throughout the day and were eventually able to restore power in the area, and as crews banded together, so did neighbors.
“We’re a tight community here and everyone’s coming out and offering to help,” Srivastava said.