ANDERSON, S.C. (WSPA) — A teenager was killed Monday when a large tree fell on him during a storm.
Evan Christopher Kinley, 15, arrived at his grandparent’s home during the height of the storm and was hit by the tree after getting out of his car at the entrance to a garage, the Anderson County Coroner’s Office said. The tree hit Kinley, the garage and a fence on the property.
Anderson Fire Chief Charlie King said firefighters tried to rescue Kinley.
“Crews were able to begin cutting their way — with saws and other extrication tools — into the structure where they made access to the individual who was inside, and determined he had passed away from the injuries he received,” King said.
Kinley, a sophomore at T.L. Hanna High School, was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple traumatic injuries secondary to blunt force trauma, the coroner said. His death has been ruled accidental and classified as a death resulting from a severe weather event.
The area had been under a severe thunderstorm warning. Severe storms rolled over Anderson County at about 4:30 p.m. Monday, knocking out power to tens of thousands of people across the Upstate.
The Anderson Fire Department said it received about 100 calls about damage across the county on Monday.
The coroner’s office and Anderson police are investigating.
