8 found dead day after Illinois tornado disaster

UTICA, Ill. -- Searchers pulled eight bodies from the rubble of a tornado-flattened tavern Wednesday, a day after dozens of twisters tore through the Midwest.\nMayor Fred Esmond said several people from a nearby trailer park had gone to the basement of the Milestone Tap to seek refuge from the storm.\n"They heard it on the radio. Some of them went to the tavern for safety, and it just so happened ... ," Esmond said, his voice trailing off.\nCoroner Jody Bernard said the dead, who were found in various locations of the bar, ranged in age from 18 to 81.\nThe twister cut a wide swath of destruction in this small town 90 miles southwest of Chicago, turning homes and businesses into piles of brick and splintered wood. More than 10 people were taken to hospitals and at least six remained there Wednesday afternoon.\n"It was like my brain wasn't comprehending what my eyes were seeing," said John Devore, who rushed his family into the basement and looked outside about 15 seconds later. "I said, 'Well, it looks like the car's OK,' and then a split-second later, 'Wait a minute. I'm not supposed to be able to see my car. Where the hell's my garage?'"\nThe tornado blew roofs off many buildings in Utica, Ill., including the grade school. A nearby chain-link fence was covered in insulation blown from homes. A birthday card signed "Love, Brian" rested against the fence.\nA metal silo at the grain elevator was toppled, and a chunk of it was wrapped around a stop sign. A wall of bricks from a downtown bar fell onto a car parked next to the building.\nOn houses that officials had checked for injuries, marks of "OK" were spray-painted in orange and pink.\nThe heaviest damage occurred at the two-story Milestone Tap, a century-old watering hole. The crumbling sandstone foundation slowed rescuers' efforts as they gingerly dug through the sandy ruins.\nFive people were pulled alive from the rubble shortly after the storm hit. Authorities said they did not believe anyone else was missing.\nGov. Rod Blagojevich visited Utica and other communities and declared four counties disaster areas. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials planned to visit Thursday to see if they qualify for disaster relief.\nThe tornado that devastated Utica was one of dozens that smashed through the Midwest. Indiana also was hard-hit, and Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma reported twisters as well.\nAuthorities said three to six people suffered minor injuries in Jamestown, Ind., northwest of Indianapolis. Four tractor-trailers were reported blown off highways.\nMore than 30 teenagers were attending a party at a skating arena in Kokomo, Ind., when a tornado tore off the roof. Employees saw the twister approaching in time to give a warning, and no injuries were reported.\n"You know the rides they have at amusement parks, where the roof raises and then drops like it's going to hit you? That's what it was like," said Jill Foster, sponsor of one group of skaters.\nA storm also collapsed a drugstore roof and destroyed at least one home in Joliet, Ill., outside Chicago, and damaged about 60 homes and a bank in Granville, Ill., near Utica, officials said.\nSheriff's Deputy Jeff Whalen, who saw the Utica tornado out of his kitchen window, said the twister "was about the size of four houses."\n"It's one of those things you see once in a lifetime," he said.\nThe dead were identified as Larry Ventrice, 49, Wayne Ball, 63, Marian Ventrice, 50, Bev Wood, 67, Helen Menke, 81, Carol Shulpies, 40, Mike Miller, 18, and Jay Vesane, 47.