Tree cutter dies near Walhalla

A 57 year-old Walhalla man, a commercial arborist, died Monday while performing a tree-cutting operation at an area home. Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis says David Wayne Vaughn arrived at the residence at 302 Holly Lane in Walhalla around 8:00 am Monday to begin work cutting down a tree. A 911 call came in just before 1:00 pm reporting Vaughn being in distress and stuck in the tree. Charlie King, with Oconee County Emergency Services, says the man was found unresponsive, suspended about 70 feet off the ground, attached to a harness and rope he had been using. After being extricated from the tree, rescue personnel determined the man was deceased. Addis says an autopsy will be performed on Tuesday. Addis says it’s possible the man suffered a medical event while in the tree, however the coroner is not ruling out the man being hit by a falling branch. Addis says the man did not fall from the tree.