On Saturday, April 9, at 4:25 pm, the Fulton County 911 Center received a call of a man down near 3781 W. 500 N. in Rochester. The caller said a man had been hit by a tree and was not breathing or responsive.
Emergency units responded and found the male subject was deceased. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Department initiated a formal death investigation.
Carl Andrew Richard, 55 years of age, of Rochester and two other men were cutting down a large tree near a barn on the farm. According to witnesses on scene, Mr. Richard was in the process of cutting down the tree when it fell and he was unable to get out of the path of the tree in time.
Mr. Richard was struck by a 10-12″ diameter limb approximately 15 ft. in length. The limb broke from the falling tree resulting in blunt force trauma to the head resulting in his death. An autopsy was performed on Sunday, April 10, and according to Fulton County Coroner Darin Beeker, his initial ruling is an accidental death due to blunt force trauma.
Assisting the Fulton Sheriff’s Department in the investigation, Aubbeenaubbee Fire, Lutheran EMS and Fulton County Coroner’s Office.
