Tree-cutting accident kills father, injures son

RUMFORD – A 46-year-old man was electrocuted and his son seriously injured when a tree they were cutting fell on power lines, authorities said.

The two were cutting down trees along Route 108 on Saturday morning when the accident happened, according to the Sun Journal newspaper of Lewiston. Identifications were not immediately released.

“The father was actually working a backhoe – they were working in accord. The son had cut the tree, the tree tipped toward the power line, and at some point the son got some charge. He was actually touching the tree,” said Rumford Detective Sgt. Daniel Garbarini.

The father got off the tractor and went over to help his son, Garbarini said, and was then electrocuted.

“The father is now deceased, and the son has been LifeFlighted to a Massachusetts hospital for burn injuries,” he said.

By the time police and firefighters arrived, the tree had fallen off the lines, Rumford Fire Deputy Richard Coulomb said.

“Usually we get trees blown down on lines, but for someone to be cutting down a tree and catch it – it doesn’t happen … often,” he said.

Coulomb said he hasn’t seen anything like Saturday’s accident in his 18 years with the department. “It’s upsetting,” he said. “It’s upsetting, but you have to concentrate on the patient.”