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3 hurt when wind blows tree onto tent at Iowa park

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May 6th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS (AP) — Three people were injured when a tree fell on their tent early Sunday morning, at Lake Manawa State Park in Council Bluffs. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says 23-year-old Alicia Nichols, 25-year-old Timothy Hiers Jr. and 3-year-old Timothy Hiers III, all of the Council Bluffs area, were taken to a hospital after the Sunday morning incident.

According to Omaha television station KETV, Nichols suffered skull fractures, a broken pelvis, back and rib injuries, along with internal bleeding. Tim Heirs Jr. suffered from a torn spleen and internal bleeding. Both were being treated at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. Tim Heirs III  was being treated at the Nebraska Medical Center. And while he might be able to come home in a few days, his grandfather said the boy would be on mandatory bed rest, for at least a week.Authorities said the three victims were camping in a tent at the park when high winds swept through the area around 5 a.m., and brought down the tree.