Man dies after storms hammer northern Indiana

A falling tree killed a man driving his car as a severe storm moved across northern Indiana, causing scattered damage and power outages.

The Monday night storms had reported wind speeds of 60 mph and dumped heavy rain as it moved from the Chicago area to the southeast. Some homes and businesses in the Lake County town of Griffith had roofs torn off, and some farm buildings were destroyed in Benton County, northwest of Lafayette, according to National Weather Service and police reports.

Timothy Decker, 23, of Michigan City died of massive head trauma when a falling tree crushed his car about 9:30 p.m. Monday on a rural road, LaPorte County Deputy Coroner John Sullivan said. The large tree — possibly felled by high winds or a lightning strike — killed Decker instantly, Sullivan said.

The Northern Indiana Public Service Co. reported 63,000 customers without power in northwestern Indiana early Tuesday. Most of the outages were in Lake County.