Man killed by falling tree in Williamson County
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Franklin man lost his life after a tree fell on him in a rural part of Williamson County Wednesday evening.
The deadly incident — described by Williamson County Fire/Rescue as a “land clearing accident” — happened in the Pinewood community, not far from Interstate 840.
According to the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, the man who died — identified as 26-year-old Miguel Ramos — was at a construction site for a new upscale subdivision called the Cliffs at Garrison Creek.
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Fire officials said a 911 call came in shortly after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3 about a tree that fell on someone in the 6000 block of Garrison Springs Road. Initial reports indicated the victim was unresponsive and not breathing.
When first responders arrived, they said Ramos was severely injured, so they started performing CPR and rushed him to Williamson Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
According to investigators, the Franklin man was standing beside a red work truck when the tree fell on him and the vehicle.
Eddie Clark works with the team building the subdivision. He was not at the scene when the incident occurred, but he heard about it from others and he expressed the sorrow and loss the company is feeling for Ramos, who Clark described as a “hard worker” and a “nice, friendly guy.”
“It was really hard. I heard about it this morning. Like I said, me, my boss, some of the superintendents that he worked for, they all loved him. He was just a great guy,” Clark explained. “They were clearing this lot — we’re fixing to build a house up here — and the excavator operator was parking the machine for the evening, he was calling it quits for the day, and evidently from what I understand, Miguel was close to the truck, and when the tree fell down, it got him and part of his truck.”
Clark said the company owner went to the hospital and spent much of the night grieving with Ramos’ family.
“He is really concerned and heartbroken, as we all are,” Clark added.
Officials at the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development confirmed to News 2 that the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) was notified and has launched a workplace investigation into Ramos’ death.
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“From what I understand, this wasn’t a construction accident. This was all Mother Nature. I mean, this was part of that storm system that blew in and out all over the place yesterday,” Clark told News 2.
Clark recalled seeing high winds and BB-sized hail twice throughout Wednesday afternoon in different parts of Williamson County.
“High winds up on this higher elevation on these hills, it’s unavoidable. It had nothing to do with our construction being unsafe or nothing like that because my operator that works for us, he’s always been safe. He does things, he watches out for his guys on the ground, and he would never put anybody at risk,” Clark described. “It was nobody’s fault. It was [Ramos’] time. I mean, just unfortunately, it was his time.”
According to News 2 Chief Meteorologist Danielle Breezy, at the time of the incident, there were recorded wind gusts of up to 31 mph with sustained winds of over 20 mph in the area.
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