Tree falls on man walking along Greene River Trail
A man is being treated at an area hospital after a tree fell on him Thursday evening while he was walking on the Greene River Trail in Jefferson Township.
Rices Landing fire Chief Bill Kozich declined to release the man’s name, but said he was in his 60s and suffered head and arm injuries when the tree fell near the trail entrance at Greene Cove Yacht Club.
“It’s just one of those freak things that happened,” Kozich said.
The man was flown by medical helicopter to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., where his condition was unknown.
Assistant fire Chief Bob Willis was also on the scene Thursday and said the man was walking by himself, but other witnesses near the trail saw what happened and offered assistance.
“It was just the wrong place at the wrong time,” Willis said.
Jake Blaker, director of parks and recreation for Greene County, said the tree was a live oak with a 5-foot diameter trunk and a large root system.
“It was a huge tree,” he said.
He said it was on private property, but fell onto the trail, which is owned and maintained by the county. Blaker, who visited the trail Friday to assess its condition, said the “constant rain” this summer probably contributed to it falling.
“The ground is so saturated that live trees are just falling over,” he said.