EVANSTON (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Heavy storms blew through the Chicago area Tuesday night, leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without electricity Wednesday morning and leaving some to cleanup from tree damage - once instance in particular in north suburban Evanston.
The worst damage WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya noticed was in Evanston. An at least 40 foot tall mature American Elm tree was pulled out of the ground, roots and all, taking the sidewalk with it and crushing a car parked near it.
It’s Jill Topolski’s car. She said she doesn’t usually park on Sherman Avenue near Colfax, but she was "visiting friends in the building next door and knew the storm came through. When I parked, it was like a lull. There was nothing when I parked, and then when I came around at nine (o’clock), I saw this……I called my friends and I said, ‘Can you come down here, please? Can you drive me home?’”
Topolski saud the car is a "thing" and it can be replaced. She knows that had she or anyone else been in the car at the time they would not have survived.
"Thanks God no one was injured, in my car or anywhere else on the street...A car can be replaced. A hassle, but a car can be replaced," she said.
Evanston resident Sandy Swanson was among the curious who stopped by to see what had happened.
"This is crazy. Like I said, the power of nature. The sidewalk is on top of the tree roots. It’s impressive and I’m just thankful that it’s not my car," Swanson said.
Other tree damage in the area involved mostly snapped tree limbs.
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