Deadly Storms Tear Through Chicago Area With High Winds

As thunderstorm rolled through the Chicago-area Sunday, one person died and several others were injured in an event in suburban Wood Dale after a tent collapsed, the Chicago Tribune reported. The storm, which produceed high winds and hail, also briefly cleared out the popular music festival Lollapalooza in Chicago's downtown Grant Park.

A tent collapsed at the Wood Dale Prairie Fest in the suburban area near O'Hare International Airport during the afternoon's severe weather. One person, identified as an adult male by the DuPage County coroner, died in the incident, WMAQ-TV, Chicago, reported. Three more people were seriously injured, with 15 people taken to the hospital. All of the victims were 20 to 60 years of age, WMAQ-TV said. The Wood Dale Police Department confirmed in a post to Facebook that one person died.

"There was a tragic accident at the Prairie Fest at about 2:40 p.m. today. Hail and extremely high winds uprooted a large tent on the grounds of the fest and injured several people," the post read. "There was one confirmed fatality at this time and 15 patients were transported to local hospitals."

Witnesses described the collapse of the tent at the final day of the four-day Prairie Fest that featured music and fireworks. "The tarp landed on several people, and rescuers started cutting holes to get them out," Tracy Anderson, whose husband was scheduled to play with the band that was supposed to perform at the festival, told the Chicago Tribune. Anderson told the paper she saw at least six ambulances and eight fire trucks at the scene.

Lollapalooza was briefly evacuated by organizers but reopened about an hour later. Concertgoers scrambled to emergency evacuation shelters on the final day of the three-day festival. Chicago's downtown was not hit as hard as suburban areas farther north. Further severe thunderstorms could hit Chicago starting about 7 p.m., local time, and lasting until about midnight.