Tree Falls Onto Butler Co. Mobile Home, Killed 1 Man
SLIPPERY ROCK (KDKA) – Friday evening's storms left one person dead in Butler County and a trail of destruction in some local neighborhoods.
It was one of those storms that caused pockets of damage throughout the region, but has now moved away from our area.
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"That widespread shower and thunderstorm activity from earlier has since moved off to the south and east, and we're left behind with some balmy conditions," said KDKA Chief Meteorologist Jeff Verszyla.
In Butler County, near Slippery Rock, one home took a destructive and deadly hit.
Firefighters raced to a mobile home on West Park Road in Worth Township, but there was nothing they could do to save the man trapped inside.
A tree came crashing down on the structure, and the debris that came along with it pinned him in the wreckage.
"High winds, a lot of rain, it wasn't good," Slippery Rock VFD Chief Kenneth Taggart said. "It's unclear if it was lightning or wind, definitely storm-related."
Cheif Taggart says the man lived in the home. Everyone else was able to get out safely, but family members were grief-stricken when they learned their loved one was killed by the impact.
The Butler County Coroner was called to the scene. But there's still no official identification on the victim.
Across the border in Beaver County, the New Brighton Fire Department was busy on 5th Avenue. There was damage in the 1300-block after a lightning strike brought down a tree.
A tree fell on Tia Starr's home.
"It was very, very, very scary," said Starr. "So I went to my kitchen, looked out the back window, and it was this humongous tree. And I seen smoke and I heard this pop sound coming from my basement, and I said I gotta get out of here."
The utility company took care of the downed power lines while firefighters went door-to-door making sure everyone was safe.
In Industry, the storm knocked over a large tree. Fortunately, it doesn't appear the tree caused much damage.
Meanwhile, Verszyla says overnight we "can't rule out a hit or miss shower in a couple locations, but any activity is going to be very widely separated."
As for the weekend, he says: "[Saturday], not as warm, but it still will be humid, likewise on Sunday with a spotty shower chance over the weekend, but the key word there is spotty, many hours of the day [Saturday] and Sunday it will not be raining."
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