Crime & Safety
Cary Girl Killed When Tree Limb Falls on Tent
The girl was pronounced dead at the scene of the Wisconsin campground at about 4 a.m. Sunday, according to media reports.
An 11-year-old Cary girl is dead after a storm knocked a tree onto her while she was camping in a tent with her dad and brother at a popular state park in Wisconsin.
The girl and her father became trapped under the tree after it fell on the tent around 4 a.m. on Sunday at Devil's Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wis., which is located about 40 miles northwest of Madison, Wis., according to a press release from the Sauk County Sheriff's Office. The girl's brother, 14, was able to climb out after the accident.
The 11-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Her father and brother were taken to a local hospital where they were treated and released, according to the Daily Herald.
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A thunderstorm passed through the area overnight and the limb that fell on the family's tent was about nine inches in diameter, the Chicago Tribune reports.
No other campers in the 407-site campground of the 10,000-acre park reported injuries and Wis. Department of Natural Resources spokesman Bob Manwell said it appeared the broken limb came from a healthy tree.He said it "looked like the roots just snapped," according to the Chicago Tribune.
Park Superintendent Steve Schmelze told the Baraboo News Republic the park had never seen an accident involving a tree falling on a visitor.
The incident remains under investigation by the Department of Natural Resources Devils Lake State Park
Read more on the Daily Herald.
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