PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man is in the hospital after being hit by a falling tree in SE Portland Friday afternoon.
Steve Jackson and his neighbor were trying to cut down a dead tree when things took a turn.
“And then all of a sudden, Steve just vanishes,” neighbor Jim Wright said. “The tree fell and hit another tree and then all of a sudden it snapped and he was standing back here and it just whacked him in the head.”
Wright told KOIN 6 News Jackson was pretty beat up. Jackson’s father told KOIN 6 News he fractured his skull and remains in the ICU.
Experts say taking down dead trees can be dangerous.
“Dead trees are very unpredictable, especially when they’re big,” Damon Schrosk at Treecology said. “Sometimes those trees don’t even need to come down. Unfortunately [this is] something that maybe could’ve been prevented.”
Schrosk said after the nasty winter weather in the area this past year, a lot of people are calling about tree health. He said anyone who has questions or is looking to remove a tree should call an arborist first.
“Big pieces of wood move really quickly and you’re not going to get out of the way fast enough,” Schrosk said.