HOPATCONG — A resident of Maxim Drive was killed Thursday afternoon when a large tree fell through his home and hit him as he sat in a recliner in his living room, according to borough police.
The name of the male victim, in his early 60s, is being withheld pending notification of his entire family, Hopatcong Police Lt. Thomas Kmetz said.
Police were called to the Maxim Drive home at 3:18 p.m. and told a tree had fallen on the yellow two-story home.
The nearly 80-foot oak tree, which uprooted from a rocky area, cleaved through both floors of the home. It also fell on the house next door, damaging the roof.
Kevin O’Hara, a neighbor on Lines Avenue who did not know the victim, said he was walking his dogs nearby when he heard a “tremendous boom.”
“It sounded like a house came down,” he said. “It didn’t sound like a tree.”
Sgt. Joseph Magrini and Patrolman Nick Maresca responded, entered the home and found the man pinned entirely beneath the tree except for his legs, Kmetz said. They also found a small fire caused by downed wires.
The fire was put out by Maresca with a fire extinguisher. Magrini suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to St. Clare’s Hospital in Dover for treatment, Kmetz said.
Two dogs in the house were rescued. The animals were not hurt, Kmetz said.
The victim’s wife, who was not home at the time of the
incident, arrived soon after and stayed nearby in a neighbor’s house.
The Hopatcong Fire Department and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office were also called to the scene.
At about 6:30 p.m., a crew from Tree King of Landing began removing the tree so that police and fire officials could get to the victim. Floodlights were set up nearby so that work could continue into the night.
Sean Rowland, meteorologist with WeatherWorks in Hackettstown, said wind gusts in the area around Hopatcong were at 30 to 35 mph at about 3 p.m. The National Weather Service recorded a wind gust of 41 mph in Hackettstown Thursday afternoon.
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