Tree Falls on Seminole Heights Pastor

TAMPA, FL -- Local Pastor Sharon Davis' nightly walk is a routine she is well known for.

At the end, she sits in the same spot outside to pray for the community and the church and to reflect on everything she has been working on. But on Sunday night, her walk ended with a surprise from above.

As Davis prayed, she heard a cracking sound coming from overhead. Before she could even look up, church members said, she was struck by a falling tree limb on the church's steps. She doesn't remember being struck, but she remembers waking up on the ground, according to church member Beni Blankenship.

"The tree limb threw her back and down, breaking her clavical in three places and cutting her head open pretty bad," Blankenship said. "Other than that she is just really sore and is doing OK. When you look at the pictures, it's a miracle it didn't do worse."

The large tree limb is believed to have been weakened by the wrath of Tropical Storm Debby which hit the city of Tampa so hard just a week ago. Luckily for Davis, there happened to be a neighbor outside their home who saw the event unfold and was able to dial 911 within minutes.

Word of the incident is spreading fast around the church community, which is making plans to rally around Davis and give her any assistance she may need as she heals in the coming weeks and months, Blankenship said. Davis was still hospitalized as of Monday afternoon, church members said.

"People are starting to ask, and we're getting organized to try and see what we can do," Blankenship said. "She's right handed, and it was her right shoulder, so we have to see what we can do as far as putting out a call to take some food over and help out with cleaning. Right now she is just asking for prayers for healing and for her husband Len."

For more information about how you can help Pastor Davis, call Seminole Heights United Methodist Church at 813-236-5931.