18-year-old dead after being hit by falling tree
By Raquel Ciampi
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NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — An 18-year-old has died after being hit by a falling tree in Westmoreland County on the Fourth of July.
North Huntingdon police said officers responded to Winchester Road in the area of the Trafford Sportsmen’s Club at about 11:40 a.m. Thursday.
The Westmoreland County Coroner identified the 18-year-old as Jacob Lazar of Irwin.
Lazar was cleaning up fallen trees from a recent storm with other volunteers when he was struck, according to the coroner.
The coroner’s report said the tree slipped from an excavator bucket and hit him in the head.
Further information will be released as the North Huntingdon Police Department investigates. The coroner has ruled Lazar’s death accidental.
Mike Zigarovich, owner of Mike Zigarovich Tree Service said he was working not far from where the man was killed.
“it’s difficult. Too young,” Zigarovich said. “I’ve had friends who’ve died in this business, I work with personally, and it’s very difficult. We take it very personal.”
Zigarovich stressed the dangers of tree removal and clean-up for both professionals and volunteers.
“The tree business is one of the most dangerous occupations in the country, statistically. And professionals get killed, as well as people who are not professionals that help out and volunteer. It’s just a very dangerous thing to be doing,” Zigarovich said.
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