It was bizarre start to the school year at Penn State Abington Monday.
A large tree branch fell on four students on campus around 3:15 p.m., according to Abington Township Police.
The students were apparently in an area of benches and outdoor picnic tables near a pond on campus.
"I heard like a bang," said witness Vinny Volpe. "Sounded like a car accident. I seen one branch fall, didn't think much of it, I looked away, two minutes later the thing just crashed into two tables with about 8 people."
The injured students were taken to the hospital with what were being called non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.
No immediate identities of the victims were given.
It also wasn’t clear what caused the tree limb to fall but police say that recent rain could have possibly caused the tree to weaken.
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The University released the following statement early Monday evening:
At approximately 3:15p today, a group of four students were struck by a branch that fell from a tree on campus. All of the students required some form of medical treatment. All were taken to Abington Memorial Hospital. Within minutes of the incident, campus medical staff were there, followed by 2nd alarmers and Abington Police.
The University regularly evaluates the condition of the trees on its campuses; the most recent review at Penn State Abington was conducted this summer. A thorough review of this accident will be conducted in the coming weeks.
Monday was the first day of the fall semester, according to the school website.
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