Ohio college student killed by falling tree

MASSILLON, Ohio (AP) — A falling tree has killed a 21-year-old Ohio college student who decided to take a walk to clear her head after a day of studying.

The Independent in Massillon (MAS’-ih-luhn) (http://bit.ly/ZGooen ) reports that Rachel Schmidt attended Kent State University’s Stark County campus. She was a third-year communications major and lived in Perry Township in suburban Canton.

She decided to talk a walk at a Massillon park on Sunday afternoon. The newspaper reports that wind gusts were averaging over 30 mph at that time.

The tree that struck Schmidt was estimated to be 80 feet tall and 6 feet in circumference at its base. It was on a hill surrounding the park.

Someone saw the accident and called for help. Schmidt died an hour later.

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Information from: The Independent, http://www.indeonline.com

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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