8:48 p.m.

POWNAL — A 5-year-old boy from Pownal died Sunday after being crushed by a tree.

Chief Deputy Kevin J. Joyce of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department said the boy, whose name is not being released, had been playing in a hole made by an uprooted tree that had blown over during last week’s wind storm.

The child’s grandfather began cutting the tree with the intention of removing it, but was unaware the child was in the hole. After he cut the tree, its lower half “kicked up” into position as if the tree trunk was standing.

The boy was pinned under the roots and the remaining portion of the tree trunk.

When the grandfather did not see the victim or his older sister, he began to look for them. That is when he discovered a portion of the boy’s sweat shirt under the roots.

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Joyce said the grandfather tried digging frantically while other family members called the Pownal Fire Department. Firefighters were able to move the tree enough to free the boy.

He was transported by Freeport Rescue to the Maine Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The accident, which took place at 283 Merrill Road, remains under investigation.

2:43 p.m.

Tree falls and injures Pownal child

A 5-year-old child from Pownal was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland with injuries after a tree fell on the child this afternoon.

A dispatcher from the Brunswick Police Department, which provides rescue service to Pownal, said the accident was reported at 1:26 p.m. at 283 Merrill Road.

Further information was not immediately available from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department.


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