Man killed by falling tree

A 55-year-old Norfolk man was killed by a tree that had fallen on him while a work crew was cutting it down on a private property southeast of Copenhagen on Wednesday morning, Jan. 24. The Elgin County Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Ministry of Labour are investigating the death that occurred in a wooded area off Pede Road south of Nova Scotia Line. Elgin OPP Constable Tory Carlson said officers responded to the incident at 10:07 a.m. that day. He said police along with Malahide volunteer firefighters and Elgin-St. Thomas Emergency Medical Services paramedics responded to the scene where the man was pronounced dead. Const. Carlson said the release of the dead man’s name was pending notification of next of kin. “Police are in the early stages of the investigation,” he said. “However at this time police have learned that the deceased along with two other workers were working for a tree cutting service that had been hired by the landowner to conduct work on the property. The deceased was in the process of cutting down a tree when it prematurely fell and landed on the man. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The two other workers were not injured in the incident.” Const. Carlson said further details will be released when available. Read more about the incident in the Wednesday, Jan. 31 print edition of The Aylmer Express. (A/E Craig Bradford)