5 Dead, Multiple Hurt After Tornado, Storms Rip Through MI: Sheriff

INGHAM COUNTY, MI — At least one person was killed and multiple others were seriously injured after a suspected tornado ripped through the greater Lansing area Thursday night, according to the Ingham County Sheriff's Office.

Officials said more than 25 vehicles along Interstate 96 from Williamston Road to the Livingston County line were severely damaged by a likely tornado that touched down in the area at roughly 9:50 p.m.

"At this point, there has been one confirmed fatality and several additional victims seriously injured," officials said in a statement. "I-96 will continue to be shut down in both directions from Williamston Road to M-52."

Another person was killed in Lansing after a tree fell on a home during the storms, according to a report from the Lansing State Journal, citing Lansing Police Department spokeswoman Jordan Gulkis.

Officials were also reviewing storm damage in Plymouth Township and parts of Monroe County to determine if any brief tornado "spin-ups" occurred during Thursday night's storms.

Three people were also killed in a hydroplane accident near Cedar Springs in the Grand Rapids area during the storms Thursday night, according to the Kent County Sheriff's Office.

Officials said a 21-year-old woman and two girls, ages 1 and 3, were killed in the crash after two vehicles collided head-on as it was raining.

The severe thunderstorms Thursday night knocked-out power to more than 219,000 DTE customers in the Metro Detroit area. There were more than 380,000 people without power across Michigan.

The violent storms rolled across lower Michigan just one day after heavy downpours and torrential rainfall flooded multiple area in the Detroit area, especially in and around Metro Detroit Airport.