A video uploaded on social media shows a van crushed by a large tree after it fell on the vehicle during a severe hailstorm in Ashton, Kentucky on Thursday 9 April, leaving the driver trapped inside.

The driver of the church van was making his way through a park when a large tree fell onto the rear passenger seats, pushing the roof of the vehicle towards the ground. The driver was left stranded inside narrowly escaping injury as hailstones filled the vehicle. He was later able to leave the van unharmed.

The large storm system rolled through the Midwest on Thursday, with tornadoes sweeping across Illinois. Two people were killed and 20 others injured when a rare EF-4 tornado, the second highest intensity, tore through the town of Fairdale. It damaged or destroyed almost every structure in the town of about 200 people, local officials said.

Residents of the town were allowed to return to their homes on 11 April to assess damage and begin making insurance claims.

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