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A 46-year-old Anson man died Tuesday when he was struck by a falling tree while cutting wood with his father in Embden, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office said.

Around 11:15 a.m., first responders were called to a wooded area near the intersection of Fahi Pond and Cross Town roads, Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell said Wednesday.

They found Daniel Nile with a serious head injury and performed life-saving measures, but he was ultimately pronounced dead on the scene, Mitchell said.

Nile had been wearing a hardhat but it was knocked off, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said it appeared Nile was cutting trees with his father, Danny Nile, 71, of Anson. The younger Nile was on the ground using a chainsaw to cut limbs from a tree on the ground, while his father was operating a skidder. Mitchell said he did not think the tree that struck Daniel Nile was one his father was actively moving.

Sgt. Ritchie Putnam and Deputy Stacey Slate from the Sheriff’s Office responded to the call along with the Anson Fire Department and Anson-Madison-Starks ambulance service, Mitchell said.

Several family members in the area also came to the scene, he said.

Nile’s body was taken to a local funeral home, and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner was notified per standard policy, Mitchell said.

The Sheriff’s Office is treating the incident as an accident and not a criminal case, Mitchell said. He added that the responding deputies did not consider it a case to be referred to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration because the Niles were not working on behalf of a business.

Jake covers public safety, courts and immigration in central Maine. He started reporting at the Morning Sentinel in November 2023 and previously covered all kinds of news in Skowhegan and across Somerset...