Local Man Killed by Falling Tree

A local man was killed when struck by a falling tree.

The incident happened Saturday afternoon. The victim has been identified as 51-year-old Eric Emberton of Effingham.

The Effingham County Coroner's Office was notified at 2pm of an incident on West Temple Avenue regarding a man found dead in his backyard. Effingham City Police were on scene and indicated Emberton had been cutting down a tree when it fell on him.

Neighbors advised they saw Emberton trimming limbs and was starting to cut down the tree. A neighbor indicated they looked out a window a short time later and saw Emberton on the ground. They went to check on Emberton, pulled the tree off of him and found him unresponsive. The neighbor phoned 911.

Emberton was from Charleston, but had relocated to Effingham about 20 years ago.

The Coroner's Office is continuing to investigate the death.