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Strong storms topple tree onto cars in Lakeview neighborhood

By
Suzanne Le Mignot
Suzanne Le Mignot
Anchor/Reporter
Suzanne Le Mignot serves as CBS2 Chicago's weekend news morning anchor and weekday reporter.
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Suzanne Le Mignot

/ CBS Chicago

Amid strong winds that topped 50 mph Thursday night, a large tree fell on two cars in Chicago's Lakeview East neighborhood, sending neighbors running outside.

The tree came crashing down onto a Jeep Wrangler and another SUV directly across the street on the 3100 block of North Seminary Avenue. The Jeep's owner said he was stunned to see the large tree on top of his vehicle Friday morning.

"I'm just glad nobody got hurt by the tree falling down," Paul Mizera said.

Mizera said his wife first saw images of the downed tree on a social media post, then Mizera looked and realized the enormous tree had fallen on his beloved Jeep that he's had for a decade.

"The car was in pristine condition and it's just a bummer that it had to go out that way," he said. "The Illini basketball team won last night, so I was in a good mood. Obviously, I'm an Illinois fan and grad, so I was in a good mood, and I think that helped deal with the situation at hand."

Mizera had parked his SUV around 10 p.m. Thursday. About 20 minutes later, the crashing sound of the tree sent many people running out of their homes to see what happened.

"I was shocked, and then also just immediately though of if it had fallen in the opposite direction," Caroline Hall said.

Had that tree fallen in the other direction, it would have hit Hall's living room, where she was sitting at the time.

"It was really loud. Honestly, I think I screamed a little bit," she said. "I felt like the whole house just kind of shook."

She was among the five people on the block who called 311 after the tree crushed the tops of both vehicles in its path.

Hall said it wasn't raining when the tree fell.

"I don't remember it being that windy at that time, so I don't how that happened," she said.

Department of Streets and Sanitation forestry crews removed the downed tree and debris Friday morning. A spokesperson said the department received more than 40 other calls about tree emergencies citywide Thursday night due to high winds.

Forestry crews were recently in the area of the downed tree on Seminary Avenue, but their work was unrelated, and the tree was not previously identified for removal.

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