Man killed by falling tree in Adelaide Hills as wild wind lashes SA
A MAN killed by a falling tree while clearing storm debris from a Hills road has been remembered as “the best person you could ever wish to be your friend”.
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A “GENTLE, genuine man” who was clearing storm debris from a Hills road as storms lashed Adelaide on Monday was struck and killed by another falling tree, despite frantic efforts of paramedics to save his life.
Shocked friends and neighbours have praised the efforts of grandfather Ray Fox, 71, for “doing the right thing” for his community when he was fatally injured.
His distressed wife found him pinned beneath the tree on Gladigau Rd, Harrogate at 11am.
Trevor Neumann, of Mt Barker, said his mate of more than 40 years was a great bloke.
“He was just the best person you could ever wish to be your friend,” he said. “He was a workaholic, he was a perfectionist. You couldn’t ask for a better friend.”
The strong cold front on Sunday night and Monday brought gusts of more than 100km/h bringing in a week of wild and extreme weather.
Three other people were taken to hospital with minor injuries in separate incidents as powerful winds tore through the Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula.
Peter Atkinson, a neighbour of Mr Fox, was first on the scene after Mr Fox’s wife called to say her husband was pinned down under a tree.
“We just got a phone call from Ray’s wife, she was very distressed and saying that he was cutting a tree that was on the road and he’s been pinned down under the tree,” Mr Atkinson said.
“I think she just went down to see how he was, the chainsaw was still running and everything, so she rang and then my wife called triple-0.”
Mr Atkinson said he tried to help until the ambulance arrived.
“We were talking to the lady on triple-0 and when I got there, it was you know, too late,” he said.
“He was a really friendly guy. If you asked him to give you a hand he would give you a hand.”
Rodney Herrmann said losing his neighbour in the freak accident was “a big shock”.
He said Mr Fox was “out doing the right thing and clearing the road so people could get through and this freak accident happened”.
He described his neighbour as a man who was always helping others.
“He would always keep an eye on our property here, give us a ring to say there’s a cow calving and he was just a really great neighbour,” Mr Herrmann said.
“He was just well-known, this little community of Harrogate, Mt Torrens, Tungkillo is a very tight-knit community. We all look after each other — he was that sort of person.”
Mr Herrmann said Mrs Fox was very emotional and was being supported.
SES chief officer Chris Beattie said the death highlighted the dangers of clearing up fallen debris and trees alone.
“We’re really concerned about the injuries we have seen ... we remind people to be vigilant and where possible to stay away from trees,” he said.
“These sort of tragedies are always difficult for our volunteers to deal with.”
In other incidents a man was hurt when a water tank rolled on her, also in Tungkillo, and a woman hurt her leg when a tree fell on her car in Macclesfield.
Mark Castine, 57, was having a cup of coffee when he was thrown from one side of the 25-foot caravan to the other about 5.30am.
“A massive gust came up and ripped the whole veranda off and tipped the caravan over,” Mr Castine said.
“The fridge fell over and wedged up against the door so I was trapped.”
Mr Castine was uninjured and the SES helped him out after about half an hour.
Another man was lucky to escape with only minor head injuries after a large tree crashed on his parked car at a vet clinic in Meadows. He reportedly ducked just in time to avoid serious harm, with the tree crushing part of the roof.