4 Illinois families displaced after storm knocks tree onto apartment building

WASHINGTON PARK, Ill. – Four families in Washington Park, Illinois, have been displaced after strong weekend weather left their apartment building condemned.

A large tree, which neighbors said was healthy and strong, came crashing down on the four-unit building. Residents are left to pick up the pieces of their lives.

“I was sitting in the living room, slowly getting ready for work. The wind was blowing kinda high, so we closed the windows. It was rainy extremely hard. All I heard was a big boom,” Latosha Howard said.

That boom was the sound of a tree crashing into the apartment building, collapsing the porch and trapping families inside.

According to the National Weather Service, winds reached at least 40 miles per hour Saturday afternoon; strong enough to bring down trees that neighb