The two people killed as tornadoes whipped through Indiana were a married couple in their late 80s, according to their family, who called them a “tough old guy and sweet old lady.”
Great-grandparents Ed Kozlowski, 89, and his wife, Arlene, 86, were killed late Tuesday when a tornado struck their home in Lake Village, a town of less than 800 people in northwestern Indiana, officials and family said.
“They were wonderful, just really wonderful human beings,” a son-in-law, Steve Rhefeldt, told CBS Chicago of the couple who also had four kids and seven grandchildren.
“You know, tough old guy and sweet old lady.”
The Kozlowskis appear to have been killed by blunt force trauma as their home was leveled, but an autopsy is scheduled for Friday.
Their loved ones had been preparing to celebrate Ed’s 90th birthday party at the now-destroyed home where he had lived with his wife for years.
“They’ve lived a good life,” Rhefeldt said, saying he hoped that their deaths were instantaneous.
Lake Village, located about 60 miles south of Chicago, suffered extensive damage during Monday night’s severe storms, when at least four tornadoes touched down in Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
Newton County officials confirmed that more than 100 buildings were damaged in Lake Village and more than 30 were destroyed.
Steven Travis, of Lake Village, told CBS Chicago he was home when the twister came ripping down his street. He rushed into a closet to take cover.
“I was looking out the front window and I seen a dumpster fly by; that’s when I went for cover,” he said. “I went to the bedroom. The roof lifted off, the ceiling come down, knocked me down, I climbed into the closet.
“And that’s where I come out and debris was everywhere. I mean, the place was destroyed.”
With Post Wires