Son-in-Law Of Man Killed In Ottawa Tornado Has Also Died

LASALLE COUNTY, IL - A tornado that touched down in Ottawa has claimed another life.

David A. Johnson, 31, was pronounced dead at 4:54 p.m. Wednesday at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Ottawa — almost exactly 24 hours after a deadly EF-3 tornado hit the town, the Peoria Journal Star reports.

Johnson had been standing with his father-in-law, spouse and brother-in-law when the twister came roaring through, according to media reports.

Johnson was working in the backyard of a home when an uprooted tree struck him, according to media reports. The same tree also landed on his father-in-law, Wayne Tuntland, 76, and Tuntland’s son, Toby.

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Wayne Tuntland was pronounced dead at the residence, and Toby has since been treated at released from the hospital, according to the Peoria Journal Star.

Johnson died as a result of severe head trauma, according to NBC 5 Chicago.

• LaSalle Tornado: February Storms Leave 3 Dead In Illinois, Missouri

Six confirmed tornadoes ripped across northern Illinois Tuesday evening and night, according to the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, about 20 total tornadoes have been confirmed across the Midwest from Tuesday’s storm, according to a Weather Center report.

One of the twisters killed a man in Crossville, a small town in Southeastern Illinois, NBC Chicago reported. That man has been identified as Thomas McCord, 71, and was in front of his home when the tornado hit, according to ABC 7. In Perryville, Missouri, a tornado ripped across I-55, overturning cars and killing a third person, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Fourteen were injured in the tornado that hit Ottawa and nearby Naplate. The LaSalle County Nursing Home in Ottawa was heavily damaged, but a woman answering the phone at the LaSalle County Nursing Home Tuesday evening told Fox 6 no one was seriously injured. Several residents reported bumps and bruises.

In Naplate, Fire Chief John Nevins told the LaSalle News Tribune that about 50 structures — or one-fourth of the town’s homes — were damaged in the tornado. Only minor injuries were reported in the town.

On Tuesday, Gov. Bruce Rauner made visits to towns hit by tornadoes in northern Illinois.

Officials from the National Weather Service also went to the towns to survey the damage and determine the strength of the storms on Tuesday.

In total, five tornadoes have been confirmed in towns west and southwest of the Chicago suburbs, according to National Weather Service reports. A tornado that touched down in Naplate and Ottawa and another that hit the Washburn and Rutland area have both been rated as EF-3 tornadoes. An EF-3 tornado has peak wind speeds of 155 mph.

Tornadoes that hit the Marseilles area and Oregon have each been rated as EF-1 tornadoes with peak winds of 90 to 95 mph.

A fifth tornado near Long Point has not yet been rated.

The path length of the Naplate/Ottawa tornado was 11.7 miles, and the maximum width of the tornado was 800 yards. The tornado in Oregon had a path length of 1.5 miles and a maximum width of 50 yards, while tornado in the Marseilles area also had a path length of 1.5 miles and a maximum width of 25 yards.

More via the National Weather Service

Photo via Patch file