Ohio police chief revises tornado death toll downward from 7 to 5 in weekend Midwest storm

Ohio police chief revises tornado death toll to 5

MILLBURY, Ohio — An Ohio police chief has revised the death toll downward from seven victims to five in a powerful weekend tornado that left dozens homeless in the Midwest.

Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer said Monday that officials likely double-counted people who died at the hospital with victims previously identified as dying at the scene.

Hummer says authorities were dealing with multiple counties, agencies and hospitals when trying to figure out how many had died.

The line of storms ripped off a movie-theater roof in Illinois and siding at a Michigan nuclear plant, forcing a shutdown.

But the worst destruction was in northwest Ohio, where a tornado left a strip up to 300 yards wide and 10 miles long littered with wrecked vehicles and family possessions.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

MILLBURY, Ohio (AP) — One of seven people killed by a powerful tornado in Ohio had just been out to dinner with her boyfriend when they ended up at a police station where the storm swept the woman away.

Mike Granata says he was on the phone with stepdaughter Bailey Bowman as she and her boyfriend tried to outrun the storm.

Granata says the couple turned right into the path of the storm. He says he feared the worst when the phone connection was cut.

The 21-year-old Bowman was a single mother with a 2-year-old son named Gerald. She worked at a mobile concession stand with her boyfriend at festivals around the Toledo area.

Granata says Bowman was a generous person who would do anything for anyone and often mentored children who lived in her neighborhood.