Storms blamed in deaths of 3

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) - Severe storms that brought damaging winds, heavy rains and flash flooding to parts of the Midwest and the South on Monday are being blamed for the deaths of three people.

A woman is dead after a tree fell on her during Monday night’s storms in Toledo, officials confirmed. It happened around 6:30 p.m. Monday, WTVG reported.

“Crews responded a short time later and found that there was an adult patient underneath the tree, and unfortunately that patient had succumbed to their injuries and was declared deceased,” says Toledo Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Allison Armostory.

It’s unclear at this time exactly where the woman was when the tree came down.

In Monroe, Michigan, a 14-year-old girl died after touching a downed electrical line in her backyard, police said.

Multiple emergency agencies responded to the scene Monday. Police said the girl was still in contact with the energized electrical line when first responders arrived at the scene.

DTE Energy crews disconnected the power lines so first responders could help the girl, but she died by the time the scene was safe.

According to Monroe Police detectives, the girl was walking with a friend in her backyard when they believed they could “smell a bonfire.”

The victim reached for what she believed was a stick when she was electrocuted by a charged electrical line.

The safety department said it is working to support the families of the victim.

Authorities in Arkansas said an 11-year-old boy died after he was swept into a storm drain during heavy rainfall Monday, the Associated Press reported.

A 47-year-old woman who tried to help the child was also pulled from the drain and taken to a hospital for treatment, according to police in Bentonville.

Copyright 2022 WTVG via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.