Man killed by falling tree limb in Charlestown, Tuesday. Harold Hanka / The Westerly Sun
Published: August 25, 2015
CHARLESTOWN, RI
A 71-year-old Deer Run, RI man died Tuesday morning while trimming a tree on his property.
The man, identified by police as Czeslaw Swizcz, was discovered unresponsive and apparently trapped in the tree at about 11:30 a.m. It appears, according to Charlestown police, a large limb fell on him as he was trimming the tree with a saw about 25 feet off the ground.
Charlestown police and emergency personnel, as well as members of the Dunn’s Corners Fire Department, responded to the home, where they found Swizcz “trapped between the branches of a large oak tree” with a large broken branch on top of him. It appeared, police said, that he had been trapped “for some time.” He was pronounced dead on the scene and the Rhode Island state medical examiner’s office was contacted, Charlestown Police Lt. Michael Paliotta said.
Lt. Patrick McMahon said National Grid sent a crew to disconnect electrical power and Stanley Tree Service arrived to remove several large broken branches above the recovery site.
Paliotta said the extensive tree damage was left behind from the microburst storms that caused heavy damage in the area earlier this month. He said evidence indicates that the large broken branch the victim was likely working on shifted unexpectedly and trapped him beneath its heavy weight, pinning him in the tree across his back and chest.
Stanley Tree Service, which McMahon lauded for their professionalism in treating the victim with the “utmost respect” during the difficult recovery process, also assisted the medical examiner in bringing Swizcz down from the tree. It took tree-service personnel about an hour to make the scene safe and remove the victim, said police.
The accident is still under investigation by police and the medical examiner.
McMahon said after the victim was taken from the tree, local resident and the Rev. Randy Chew, a retired Catholic priest, met with the family and administered the last rites. At the same time, McMahon said Charlestown emergency personnel and police, as well as the medical examiner “gathered around in an impromptu on-the-scene service” as Chew gave his blessings.
“It was a moving moment for all those who were there,” McMahon said.