Two journalists died in North Carolina on Monday when a tree fell on their news van while they were covering the impact of heavy rain from Subtropical Storm Alberto.
Mike McCormick and Aaron Smeltzer, an anchor and photojournalist for WYFF-TV in Greenville, S.C., were driving along U.S. Highway 176 near Tryon when the incident happened, officials said.
The pair had just interviewed fire chief Geoff Tennant, who had told them to be careful. “Ten minutes later we get the call and it was them,” Tennant said at a news conference, according to the Associated Press.
Tennant explained that the roots of the tree had loosened due to the ground being saturated by heavy rains.
Both men, who worked in the region covering news stories, including the weather, for more than a decade.
“All of us at WYFF News 4 are grieving. We are a family,” WYFF-TV said in a tweet.
WYFF News 4 anchor Mike McCormick and WYFF News 4 photojournalist Aaron Smeltzer died Monday when a tree fell on their SUV. https://t.co/VZZKA6K6qq All of us at WYFF News 4 are grieving. We are a family. pic.twitter.com/IQmZ6prUIH
— WYFF News 4 (@wyffnews4) May 28, 2018
