SUSSEX COUNTY—A 52-year-old Gatesville, N.C., woman was killed on New Year’s Eve after a falling tree hit the van she was riding in, according to Virginia State Police.

Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Cotten said Linda Edwards was sitting in the passenger seat of a 2001 Oldsmobile minivan when a falling tree struck it. The tree fell due to high winds.

Edwards was transported to Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg, but died of her injuries on the way to the hospital, Cotten said. The driver, David Samuel Edwards, received minor injuries. Two juveniles who were also in the vehicle were not injured.

Cotten said the accident happened at 1:41 p.m., Dec. 31 along Virginia Route 35, near the intersection of Newville Road.

Virginia Route 35 is a heavily traversed highway between Franklin and Southampton County and the Richmond-Petersburg area. The accident occurred approximately nine miles north of the Sussex-Southampton border, and 19 miles north of Courtland.