OHIO CITY, OH (WLIO) - We have learned that one person was killed after severe storms rolled through Van Wert County Thursday evening.
The fatality occurred at the corner of State Route 118 and Hoffman Street in the village of Ohio City when a large tree crashed down onto an elderly couple standing on an attached patio at the time. The weight of the tree crushed the patio roof causing both residents to be trapped. The woman was transported to Van Wert in critical condition, then transferred to a Fort Wayne hospital where she died of her injuries. The husband was not injured during this scary incident.
"That big tree came down on the house and the garage, and there was also a patio with a roof that was built in between the two structures that connected them. There was an elderly couple that was sitting in that patio area when the tree came down on top of them," explained Rick McCoy, Van Wert County EMA director.
McCoy says the strongest storms tracked from Wren to Ohio City, where numerous trees were brought down. There was also damage observed to corn fields with some of the corn nearly flattened from winds estimated at 60 to 70 miles per hour.
July 21, 2023 Press Release from Van Wert County EMA Director Rick McCoy: Van Wert County Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy reported that Severe storms rolled thru Van Wert County on Thursday evening resulting in one fatality and damage to crops, trees and several buildings. The fatality occurred at the corner of St Rt 118 and Hoffman Street on the western edge of the Village of Ohio City when a large tree fell on a house and garage and an attached patio. The roof of the patio came down on an elderly couple at that location trapping both occupants. The Ohio City Fire Department rescued both from underneath the debris with Van Wert Fire transporting the wife to Van Wert Hospital in critical condition. She was then transferred to a Fort Wayne, Ind. hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The husband was not injured.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday had predicted severe weather for Thursday with a strong possibility that it would occur. As storms developed across Michigan stretching back to northwest Indiana, The Storm Prediction Center issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch at 2:45pm for Van Wert and all surrounding counties for the possibility of winds to 70mph and 2 inch diameter hail. At 5:35pm the Weather Service in North Webster, Indiana issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Van Wert, Paulding, Adams and Allen County with storms currently over Ft Wayne moving southeast at 45mph. At 5:45pm the storm intensified as it moved to the southeast of Ft Wayne with developing rotation and this prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Tornado warning for southeastern Allen County, Ind near New Haven with the storm moving towards Monroeville and Dixon. The Van Wert EMA at that time deployed spotters from the Convoy and Scott Fire Departments and also activated the Tornado Warning Siren for Dixon. As the storm moved into Van Wert County it weakened with no additional rotation and no tornado was reported.
As the line of storms continued to develop, another strong cell intensified just south of the town of Middlebury south of US 224 and began pushing outflow winds out ahead of the hail and precipitation that extended to the Village of Ohio City. Along the path, there were two barns damaged and one shed destroyed. There was also considerable damage done to the corn fields in this 6 mile path with corn laid over from the wind with acres of corn also shredded and snapped off at the ground. There were a number of trees down and many limbs broken in the path including some power outages due to broken electrical lines. As the storm moved into the Ohio City area at around 6:35pm, the strong winds hit the home where the local couple were trapped by the fallen tree and then the storm weakened as it moved across the remainder of the county. McCoy stated that the area also received over 2 inches of rain in a short period of time with 1 inch hail also reported.
