(WWJ) A man was killed when a tree fell on top of him as a line of strong thunderstorms swept across Lower Michigan on Monday.
According to the Kent County Sheriff's Office, the 39-year-old victim was outside with friends, on Crinnion Ave NE at 16 Mile Rd, when gusty winds from the storms moved in at around 5 p.m.
The friends told investigators that the man warned them to move before several trees came down, and his actions prevented more of them from being hit.
First responders tried to save the man's life, but he was pronounced dead on the scene.
Officials said the man was a Solon Township resident. They did not release his name.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, the sheriff's office said.
Consumers Energy said more than 45,000 residential and business customers lost power due to winds that reached over 60 miles per hour. Consumers quickly deployed repair crews, and had about 30,000 of those customers' power restored by midnight.
Many of the power outage from these storms were contained to south of Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. The Grand Rapids area is also dealing with a cluster of outages.
MORE: Fast-moving storms batter the Midwest, flooding streets and stranding commuters
