A tree that fell over onto a bridge Wednesday night, believed to have worked its way out of soil loosened by the heavy rain that fell across the Miami Valley, was blamed for two accidents.

Two vehicles hit the tree, which had fallen in the 4100 block of Spangler Road, at about 8:30 p.m.

Trooper Richard Dixon, Ohio Highway Patrol post in Springfield, said there were no injuries to drivers or passengers but the undercarriage of one of the vehicles was heavily damaged.

It appears the tree was loosened from its base because of the rain, Dixon said, and that was triggered by the wind and weather — but mostly the wind.

“It looks like it was a dead tree that fell across the road,” the trooper said.

There were four passengers in the first vehicle that hit the tree, and only a driver in the second vehicle that hit the fallen tree minutes after the first vehicle, Dixon said.

The roadway is in a darkened area, he said, but “drivers are responsible for what’s in front of them.”

An employee from the Clark County Engineer’s Office, dispatched to the scene because the tree bent an iron bar on the railing of the bridge, pronounced the span safe for continued travel.