Damaging winds wreak havoc in the Midwest

Winds more than 60 mph whipped the Midwest Tuesday, blowing roofs off of buildings and ripping trees out of the ground. 

The gusts swept through the Detroit area, knocking out more than 3,000 power lines, demolishing store fronts, and uprooting trees. One even lifted the back of a car into the air. 

The winds also fueled a fire that tore through a Detroit apartment building. Five people died, and four were hurt.

“We had people jumping out the windows in the back. And fire was being driven through the building by the wind. So it was a horrendous fire to fight,” said David Fornell, Detroit Fire Department’s deputy commissioner. 

Brad Carpenter’s house and car were crushed in Kalamazoo. 

“I heard this big crack and a boom,” Carpenter said.

The Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team’s plane was blown off the runway at Willow Run Airport southwest of Detroit. Coach John Beilein said some of the players have minor cuts and bruises. 

“That game tomorrow has still a lot of meaning but certainly our kids will look at it much differently,” Beilein said.

Michigan wasn’t the only state swept up in the wind. Next door in Chicago, 55 mph winds broke a building window showering the street below in glass and smashing this car windshield.

Strong gusts made driving a truck nearly impossible. West of Indianapolis, one armored Brinks truck flipped over, killing the driver. 

In Toledo, Ohio, a tractor trailer tipped on its side, skidding along an interstate bridge. Another careened off a highway in Wisconsin.

“You gotta slow down so that way you don’t put yourself in a bad situation,” one truck driver said. “The worst thing that can happen is your truck gets blown over.”

Crews are working 16 hours a day to restore power as soon as possible. As for the Michigan basketball team, they are traveling to Washington today for the Big Ten tournament.