‘Chicago Fire’ actress, 46, killed by falling tree

ACTRESS MOLLY GLYNN has died after a tree toppled by a powerful storm struck her as she rode her bike in a US forest park. She was 46.

She was an accomplished Chicago theatre actress who also played a recurring role as a doctor on the TV series Chicago Fire.

Glynn was with her husband, Joe Foust, when the storm rolled quickly into the area, just north of Chicago, said David Rice, executive director of First Folio Theatre and a close family friend.

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“Molly was one of the most loving and generous people in the Chicago theatre scene,” he said. “She was incredibly talented – incredibly versatile. She could handle both comedy and the deepest, darkest dramas.”

Glynn’s husband called the emergency services just before 4pm local time on Friday to say his wife had been injured, Cook County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said.

NorthShore Evanston Hospital spokeswoman Colette Urban confirmed Glynn died on Saturday.

Glynn had an audition earlier in the day on Friday, and she and her husband had decided to go for a ride. The bad weather took them by surprise and the tree slammed into Glynn as the couple sought to ride to safety, Mr Rice said.

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“It was a freak accident and a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.

Others in the theatre community in and around Chicago also expressed shock and sadness.

“It is an incalculable loss,” said Michael Halberstam, the artistic director of the Glencoe-based Writers Theatre. “She was a loving mother and wife and everyone who met her fell in love with her.”

In addition to her husband, she is also survived by two teenage sons.

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• The death of girl group singer Simone Battle has been ruled a suicide by hanging.

The cause of death was determined two days after the 25-year-old was found dead in her West Hollywood home. Battle became known through her performances on the TV show X Factor with five-member band GRL.

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