Tree slides down hill in storm and kills driver in Great Smoky Mountains, officials say
.jpg "A man died after a tree hit his car in the Great Smoky Mountains, the park service says.")
A 73-year-old man driving through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was killed when a tree fell onto his car, officials say,
Barry Wallace of Cedartown, Georgia, was on a highway when he got caught in a strong storm on Thursday, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports.
Park officials say a tree came down a hillside and hit his car, WVLT reports.
Wallace was the only person involved in the crash, which is under investigation, WLOS reports.
It happened in the southbound lane of the U.S. 441 “Spur,” a road that runs between the tourist destinations of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in Tennessee, WBIR reports.
Officials say “more than 4 inches of rain fell” in that area on Thursday afternoon, sliding rocks, toppling trees and causing flash flooding, WLOS reports.
Wallace is at least the second driver to die in the park this summer after being hit by a fallen tree.
A 64-year-old man was killed after a tree hit his car on June 24, The News & Observer reported.
This story was originally published August 2, 2019 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Tree slides down hill in storm and kills driver in Great Smoky Mountains, officials say."
