Three employees of Laughlin Memorial Hospital are happy to be alive this morning after a freak accident in which a tree fell on their rental vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

Brenda Ottinger, and Gary and Patty Luttrell, all of Bybee, were on their normal work carpool traveling south on the Warrensburg Road when, for no apparent reason, the tree fell on their car, according to Ottinger.

"We were just at the wrong place at the wrong time," Ottinger, the driver, said in a brief interview this morning.

"Thank God we survived it," she added, noting that the car was a total loss.

The accident occurred at 3:45 p.m. near the intersection of Warrensburg Road and Pates Lane, according to a report filed by Greene County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Livingston.

All three occupants of the car were transported to Laughlin for treatment of minor injuries.

When a Greeneville Sun reporter called the hospital this morning to check on the condition of the three patients, the receptionist said the three Cocke County residents were all at work today.

After a bit of confusion, it was explained that the three accident victims actually are employed by the same hospital that treated them for their injuries.

Ottinger's passengers were, her sister, Patty Luttrell, and Patty's husband, Gary Luttrell.

Ottinger, a secretary on the 4-West unit, has worked at Laughlin for 20 years. Patty Luttrell works in the laboratory, and Gary Luttrell is a housekeeper.

Trying to explain the cause of the accident, Ottinger said the wind was blowing just a little when the tree fell.

"I think God's trying to tell me something," she joked. "It was just weird."