Falling tree kills 2 South Carolina journalists on Monday amid hazardous weather
Two journalists from WYFF-TV in Greenville, South Carolina, died on Monday after a tree fell on their vehicle while they were reporting on weather in the region.
WYFF anchor Mike McCormick and photojournalist Aaron Smeltzer were covering hazardous weather conditions near Tryon, North Carolina, when a tree fell on their news van.
Rain associated with Alberto was falling across the region at the time of the incident; however, the storm is not being attributed to their deaths, according to the Associated Press.
The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. EDT when the crew was driving on Highway 176, Fire Chief Geoff Tennant said during a news conference.
Tennant added that the ground in the area has been saturated and that the tree’s root system failed.
Both men had worked in the South Carolina region for over a decade where they covered weather and news stories.
“Mike joined WYFF News 4 in April 2007 as a reporter in the Spartanburg newsroom. In 2014, he was also named anchor of WYFF News 4 on Sundays at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.,” WYFF said.
“Aaron was the photographer in the Spartanburg bureau. He joined the WYFF News 4 family in February of this year,“ WYFF said
AccuWeather extends our most sincere condolences to the WYFF News 4 team and the friends and families of McCormick and Smeltzer.
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