10 injured after tree falls on tour group at Vanderbilt University

A statue on the Vanderbilt University campus. — (Image credit: Facebook.com/vanderbilt)

At Vanderbilt University on Monday, 10 people were injured when a large hackberry tree fell on top of them as they waited to start a campus tour.

The injured included prospective students, their parents, and a student tour guide. A school spokeswoman told NBC News they were part of a larger group of 120 students and parents, and were stopped in a traffic circle outside of the university's Old Gym when the tree fell. Officials said the tree's roots were still alive, and it appeared to be "rain-soaked" when it fell. The injuries sustained were not life threatening.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.