BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) – One person was killed and four others were injured when a tree fell on a City of Sevierville van on Wears Valley Road in Blount County on Thursday.

The van was returning from an American Public Works Association meeting in the Townsend area when a tree fell on the van, causing extensive damage, according to a news release from the City of Sevierville.

Rescuers had to extract some of the persons from the van, the release said. The accident happened around noon.

The employees worked in the Sevierville Public Works Department.

Killed in the accident was 36-year-old Brooke Sampson, the wife of City of Sevierville employee Michael Sampson, who was also in the van. Brooke Sampson had worked part-time for the Public Works Department in the past and was a full-time teacher with Sevier County Schools, the news release said.

City employees Bob Moncrief, Nathan Raulston, Joseph Dodgen and Eldon Denney were all injured and transported to area hospitals, according to the City of Sevierville.

Moncrief and Raulston were being treated at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, while Denney and Dodgen were taken to Blount County Memorial Hospital.

Their conditions are not available.

“The City of Sevierville family asks that your thoughts and prayers be with Michael Sampson and his family, and the families of the injured employees,” the news release said. “We respectfully ask for your understanding as we grieve as a City family during this difficult time.”

This is a developing story and we’ll continue to update the details as they become available.

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