WESTBROOK – A Westbrook man died Tuesday after a tree fell and struck him in the back of the skull behind his family’s property on County Road.

Police Chief Bill Baker identified the deceased as John Larson, 55, of Golder Commons. He called the man’s death a “horrible tragedy.”

Police were called to Larson’s Auto Repair on County Road for a reported accident involving a man using a chainsaw to cut wood, Baker said. Larson was pronounced dead at the scene upon the arrival of police and fire and rescue crews at around 1:50 p.m., Baker said.

Larson’s family runs the auto repair center on the property. Baker said the sounds of a running chainsaw, with no sign of Larson, led a family member to discover he was fatally wounded.

A white birch tree approximately 40 feet tall lay across a driveway as police and fire crews investigated Tuesday afternoon.

Blais and Hay Funeral Home representatives were called to the scene to remove the body. Officials were seen loading a sheet-covered stretcher into a vehicle.

Westbrook firefighters cut a white birch tree into smaller pieces after it fell and killed a local man on County Road Tuesday. (Staff photo by Joey Cresta)