Fallen tree kills 20-year-old after friends try saving him, South Carolina officials say
UPDATE: Just after 2 p.m. on Jan. 27, South Carolina officials released the identity of the 20-year-old man who died after being stuck under a tree. The man, Ethan Alexander Ackerman, was a college student at Clemson University, the Anderson County coroner’s office wrote in a news release and an email to McClatchy News.
The original story is below.
A fallen tree killed a 20-year-old man as his friends tried saving him, South Carolina officials said.
The tragedy unfolded when the man was clearing debris from a friend’s property early Saturday, Jan. 25, according to the Anderson County Office of the Coroner.
One of the uprooted trees “suddenly sprung back to an upright position and trapped the victim under the base of the tree. The victims’ friends were unable to move the large tree base off the victim,” the coroner’s office wrote in a news release.
First responders freed the man, who hasn’t been identified publicly as of Jan. 27. He died from his injuries at the scene in Anderson, a roughly 30-mile drive southwest from Greenville.
“The victim sustained blunt force chest trauma resulting in traumatic asphyxiation and the manner of death has been classified as accidental,” the coroner’s office wrote.
As of Jan. 25, the man’s death remained under investigation.
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 8:35 AM with the headline "Fallen tree kills 20-year-old after friends try saving him, South Carolina officials say."
