SCOTT, Ark. -- A woman visiting a central Arkansas pumpkin patch died Friday when she was struck by a large tree branch knocked down by a strong gust of wind, authorities said.

The "freak accident" occurred about 1 p.m. at the Scott Pumpkin Patch, Pulaski County Sheriff's Lt. Carl Minden said.

"They were doing a group field trip at the pumpkin patch, so there was a little crowd here," Minden said.

The woman and two others were sitting at a picnic table when the wind knocked a 30-foot-long branch from a nearby tree. It fell between 50 feet and 60 feet, killing the woman and injuring a man who was taken to a hospital, Minden said. The third person at the table, another woman, received cuts and scrapes, he said.

A voice recording at the pumpkin patch said the operation would be closed Friday and reopen Saturday. A message left requesting comment on the accident wasn't immediately returned.

The winds weren't associated with a thunderstorm, according to Minden and the National Weather Service office in Little Rock.

South winds of 17 mph with gusts of 22 mph were reported about 1 p.m. in downtown Little Rock, meteorologist Sean Clarke said. The wind was caused pressure changes between a cold front approaching from the west and warmer weather to the east, he said.