Wind knocks down tree branch onto car on Lake Shore Drive

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.

CHICAGO - Traffic on northbound Lake Shore Drive was at a standstill Friday afternoon after a large tree branch fell at North Avenue, causing a two-car crash and sending one person to a hospital.

Firefighters were cutting up the branch in an attempt to remove it, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

Traffic was diverted off of Lake Shore Drive over a mile south at Monroe Avenue, he said.

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Three people in the crash refused treatment, while one person was taken in good condition to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Langford said.

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.