Neighbors team up to pull man from under fallen limb. He later died, Florida cops say

Screams for help heard in a Florida neighborhood prompted bystanders to join forces and lift a fallen limb off a critically injured man, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

Gary Clancy, 71, died at the scene, despite their efforts to revive him, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

It happened Monday, Nov. 21, on Covey Hill Way in DeLand. The neighborhood of single-family homes is about 40 miles north of Orlando.

“Witnesses said the groundskeeper for a trailer park, Gary Clancy of DeLeon Springs, was using a chainsaw to cut trees in a field,” the sheriff’s office said.

“When a nearby resident heard the chainsaw idling but didn’t see Clancy, she found him pinned under the large limb and began screaming for help. Other bystanders heard the calls for help and collectively lifted the limb off Clancy, then rolled him away from the tree.”

Some among the group performed CPR on Clancy, but he could not be revived, officials said.

First responders pronounced him dead at the scene from injuries consistent with being crushed by the limb, officials said.

“Nothing suspicious was observed, and preliminary indications were that an accident had occurred,” the sheriff’s office said.

This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 4:32 AM with the headline "Neighbors team up to pull man from under fallen limb. He later died, Florida cops say."