One person is in critical condition and two others are in serious condition after a tree fell on them near Northwestern University during heavy winds in Evanston around noon on Thursday, authorities said.
On Thursday, at approximately noon, Evanston firefighters and paramedics responded to a medical call resulting from a fallen tree at 2001 Sheridan Road, the Evanston fire department said in a release. It said Evanston 911 dispatch received multiple reports of individuals who were injured and entrapped by a tree that had fallen on them.
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“Based on dispatch reports when the tree had fallen, there were numerous conflicting reports of how many people were under the tree,” said Evanston Fire Department Division Chief, Kimberly Kull. “That sometimes happens in the heat of something going on.”
First-arriving companies responded within minutes, and found “multiple patients lying on the ground alongside a tree,” said the release. It said the medical response was immediately upgraded to bring in additional ambulances to assist with medical care and city coverage.
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A total of four patients were provided medical care and one patient “was determined to be in critical condition, while two were in serious condition,” according to the release. It said a fourth patient was offered medical care and signed a patient refusal form. The three injured patients were transported to Evanston Hospital according to a tweet from the Evanston Police Department.
Kull said it’s unclear what caused the tree to fall, although there were heavy winds and snow in the area at the time.
“I can’t really attest to why the tree fell,” she said. “I don’t know if it was ice and wind or if it was rotten.”
The incident happened near Northwestern University’s Evanston campus and the university issued a statement on its website on Thursday saying that earlier in the day, a tree fell near Jacobs Center on the Evanston campus, injuring at least five people.
The release did not say if the injures were students but it did say “three of those injured have been transported to a hospital. There are numerous emergency personnel in the area. The University asks that you avoid the area near Jacobs if possible so emergency crews can respond properly.”
“We always recommend that when there’s ‘weather’ that people when possible stay indoors, limit their travel,” Kull said. “There’s going to be icy roadways and walkways. There’s a number of things that can happen. We would ask that people take precautions.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
