2-year-old boy killed, mother injured after tree falls through roof during tornado – WSOC TV

The child was killed when the huge tree was uprooted and fell into the house during the tornado that swept through the area, WJBK-TV reported. His death was pronounced at the scene. The boy’s mother, who was in bed with her son at the time, was seriously injured and taken to a nearby hospital, the television station reported.

According to Livonia Fire Department Chief Robert Jennison, a two-month-old child was also in a crib in another room, along with the family’s grandmother, WDIV reported. The woman was not injured but was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, the television station said.

“We were notified by Livonia Emergency Management that a two-year-old child was killed and his mother and two-month-old baby were injured,” Steve Considine, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township, told The Detroit News. “This was due to a tree falling on their home.”

The weather service confirmed the tornado as an EF-1 storm, but no warning sirens were activated, the newspaper said. Officials said the tornado developed quickly and did not give the agency time to warn residents.

“We had issued a special weather forecast for the thunderstorm, which had winds of 40 miles per hour, (but) the tornado developed quickly directly over Livonia and dissipated very quickly, so it was difficult to issue a warning on a tornado that developed so quickly,” Considine told the News.

“It’s a very traumatic call because we have a lot of dads who have kids of a similar age, but this is what they do and what they train for,” Jennison said. “There will be some healing afterward, but that’s why they’re here.”

Jennison said the rescue effort required about a dozen chainsaws and 25 firefighters to cut the tree into smaller pieces, WJBK reported. It took about an hour to lift the massive tree trunks.

The fast-moving storm devastated the Newburgh and Schoolcraft areas, the television station reported.

“It was crazy, it really looks like a tornado,” resident Lisa McLeod told WJBK. “I think in 2013 or 2014 we had one that zigzagged through the neighborhood and knocked down tons of trees – that’s pretty much what it looks like.”

Debra Eisel added that the storms were a surprise.

“We had no warning,” she told the television station. “Normally, with tornado warnings, the sirens would go off, we had no warning at all. It just hit us like a bang.”

“This is a terrible tragedy for our community,” Livonia Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan said in a statement. “We, too, are heartbroken and extend our deepest condolences.”