A 71-year-old Wantage man died Wednesday afternoon after a large tree fell on him on Central School Road, according to New Jersey State Police. Thomas Speed was pronounced dead at the scene, and troopers say the investigation into what caused the tree to come down is still ongoing.
Troopers responded to the scene and found Speed beneath the fallen tree, according to nj.com, which cited New Jersey State Police spokesman Christopher Postorino in reporting that the incident happened at 2:28 p.m. on Central School Road in Wantage. A separate account from WRNJ Radio states that troopers responded to a medical assistance call at approximately 2:26 p.m. on the same road, a discrepancy in the reported timeline that has not been otherwise clarified.
Per nj.com, Speed sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene, officials said. Troopers who arrived discovered that a large tree had fallen on him, the station reported, before he was later identified as Thomas Speed, of Wantage.
Cause Of The Fall Still Unknown
Police did not say what caused the tree to fall, and the investigation remains active, the outlet's report notes. No further details about the tree's condition or what may have contributed to its collapse have been released.
Fatal tree-fall incidents, while rare, have struck other New Jersey communities in recent memory. In one case covered by the Miami Herald, a 12-year-old boy died after a tree fell on him while he was playing in his backyard in Lawrence Township, with gusty winds cited as the cause. Officers in that case freed the boy from underneath the tree and began CPR before he was taken to Capital Health System – Regional Medical Center, where he later died, according to the same report.
No comparable details about weather conditions or the tree's ownership have been released in connection with Speed's death. State police have not provided an updated timeline for when the investigation into the Wantage incident might conclude.
