Falling tree injured two UNC-Chapel Hill students

Two female UNC-Chapel Hill students were injured Monday when a middle-aged red oak toppled over with no apparent warning.

One of the students was riding a bicycle under the tree. The other was walking. Campus police say one of the students was treated on the scene and released. The other was taken to UNC Hospitals with injuries that officers said did not appear to be life threatening.

Tom Bythell, the UNC-CH forest manager, said there were no outward signs that the red oak had root rot.

"It's really difficult to tell," Bythell said.

The red oak, Bythell said, looked to be 95 to 98 years old by the number of rings he counted. Healthy red oaks can live 180 years, he said.

UNC-Chapel Hill is a campus filled with mature trees. Arborists routinely check the campus canopy. Though it is not unusual for large oaks and older trees to topple in hurricane-force winds or other severe weather, it is rare for a falling tree to strike anyone.

"I feel really bad about somebody getting injured, but it's the nature of having trees on campus," Bythell said.