The owner of a Kenly tree removal company was killed in an accident Monday afternoon.
Emergency crews responded to the scene after receiving a 911 call at 12:58pm from the 400 block of Dixie Drive in the Selma city limits.
Kenneth Earl Vick, 65, the owner of Country Boys Tree Removal of Kenly, was in a bucket in an aerial lift approximately 70 feet in the air when a section of a pine tree he was cutting tumbled into the arm of the lift, ejecting him from the bucket.
Vick fell approximately 70 feet to the ground and died at the scene, according to Selma Police Captain R.L. Daniels.
Officials said two other company employees were working with Vick at the time of the accident. They were on the ground at the time of the mishap and were not injured.
Reports indicate the company had been hired to remove approximately 10 pine trees from the yard of a residence. The company had removed 9 trees last week and had returned today to remove the last tree when the accident occurred.
The NC Department of Labor responded to the scene Monday afternoon to conduct a separate investigation. Officials are also looking into whether windy conditions may have played a contributing factor.
Reports indicate Vick had cut a 25 foot section out of the top of a pine tree when the falling section clipped the lift arm.
