Woman Dies After Tree Falls on Tent in S. Jersey Campground

by KYW's Al Novack

A camper who was struck by a falling tree last week in a South Jersey campground has died from her injuries.

Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, says the Australian woman was camping with two local friends last Thursday when a fierce thunderstorm whipped through the Atsion Recreation Area along Route 206 in Shamong, NJ.

Hajna says winds estimated at 60 mph knocked down a tree that fell atop the tent occupied by 47-year-old Lindsey Morris of Australia and her two friends from Burlington County.

Hajna says Morris died of her injuries at Cooper Hospital in Camden:

"I think that it's a sad and unfortunate incident.  Of course when you go to a campground, you're going out to have fun, and it's certainly a tragedy when something like this occurs."

As for her two local friends:

"They received very minor injuries."

Hajna says the accident probably could not have been prevented:

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time."