Tree falls in Cades Cove, injures 3

Thursday, July 11, 2013

GATLINBURG, Tenn. - Three Kentucky visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were hurt when a tree fell.

According to park officials, rangers were called around 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday and told people touring Cades Cove had been injured. Rangers found 41-year-old Michelle Tilley of Shelby Gap, Ky., was initially knocked unconscious when the tree fell at the Missionary Baptist Church. Rangers said Tilley was holding her 1-year-old daughter at the time. The infant and Tilley's 7-year-old nephew were less seriously injured.

The children were released after treatment at University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville, where Tilley was admitted. No information about her medical condition was immediately available Thursday.

Rangers are still investigating weather conditions in Cades Cove at the time the tree fell.