SULLIVAN COUNTY, TN — Two people were injured Sunday when a tree fell onto a moving pickup in Sullivan County, Tennessee Highway Patrol said. The crash involved a Ford Ranger traveling northbound on Highway 36.
According to the report, the old tree struck the bed of the truck and the impact caused the vehicle to go airborne. The pickup then went over a guardrail, rolled down an embankment and ended up in a creek.
Authorities did not immediately release the names of the people hurt or say how serious their injuries were. The circumstances of the crash made it a dramatic and unusual roadside accident in east Tennessee.
How the tree strike sent the truck off Highway 36
Investigators said the Ford Ranger was headed northbound when the tree came down onto the vehicle. The report says the tree landed on the bed of the pickup rather than the cab, but the force of the impact was enough to change the truck’s path.
From there, the vehicle appears to have lost control almost immediately. It left the roadway, crossed over the guardrail and dropped down an embankment before coming to rest in a creek below.
That sequence suggests the crash was caused by the falling tree itself rather than by another vehicle. Tennessee Highway Patrol has not said whether weather, wind or a damaged tree played any role in the incident.
Injuries were reported, but officials have not identified the victims
Troopers confirmed that two people were injured in the crash, but they did not provide additional details about the victims. No ages, hometowns or medical updates were included in the information released Sunday.
Officials also did not say which of the two occupants was driving, whether both were in the Ford Ranger at the time, or whether either person needed transport to a hospital. Those details were not immediately available.
Even with limited information, the incident underscores how quickly roadside hazards can turn a routine drive into an emergency. A falling tree can create a sudden impact that leaves a driver little time to react.
Why Highway 36 was the scene of a serious run-off-road crash
Highway 36 is a traveled route in Sullivan County, and the crash happened while the pickup was moving northbound. The road location matters because the truck did not simply stop after being hit; it was forced off the highway and into a lower area.
The presence of a guardrail did not keep the vehicle from going over the edge after the impact. Once the truck left the road, it rolled down the embankment and ended up in a creek, which likely made the crash more severe.
Authorities did not say whether other drivers saw the tree fall or whether emergency responders had to reach the scene by a difficult route. The combination of roadway, guardrail and creek made this a particularly dangerous crash site.
What Tennessee Highway Patrol has said so far
The Tennessee Highway Patrol was the agency that released the information about the Sunday crash. Its report described the sequence of events and confirmed that two people were hurt.
At this point, the agency has not said whether any citations are expected or whether investigators are examining the condition of the tree. It also did not provide a more precise time for the wreck beyond identifying it as a Sunday crash.
That leaves several open questions about what happened before the tree fell and what response followed. For now, the key confirmed facts are that the pickup was struck, left the road and sent two people to injury.
A rare roadside hazard with potentially serious consequences
Falling trees are not a routine cause of wrecks, but when they do strike moving vehicles, the results can be sudden and severe. In this case, the tree hit the truck hard enough to send it over a guardrail and down an embankment.
The crash is a reminder that drivers can face hazards beyond traffic itself, including objects that fail without warning. Even a large pickup can be thrown off course by a force that comes from above rather than from another car.
Officials have not said whether crews removed the tree or cleared the creek area after the crash. The Tennessee Highway Patrol’s account remains the main public description of the incident.
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