Traffic on Lake Shore Drive was at a standstill Friday afternoon after wind knocked down a tree branch onto at least one car near North Avenue, sending a person to a hospital.
Firefighters and city forestry personnel were cutting up the tree in the northbound lanes in an attempt to remove it, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
“The tree came down in the wind. It made a nice slice down the trunk of the tree. Half of it fell,” Langford said.
Large healthy tree falls on Lake Shore Drive. One person transported in good condition. Two cars hit. About 1400 north in north lanes. pic.twitter.com/pVmvLC3kND
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) May 28, 2021
The tree hit at least one car, he said. Another car was damaged but it may have hit the other car.
Three people in the crash refused treatment, while one person was taken in good condition to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Langford said.
Traffic was getting by in one lane after the crash.
Winds were gusting at 35 mph at O’Hare Airport on Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
A high wave warning closed most of Chicago’s beaches to swimming on the first day they were to be reopened since closing over a year ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.
