Tree Falls On, Kills Palm Harbor Man

A Palm Harbor man is dead after Pinellas County deputies say a tree he and his girlfriend were trying to clear fell over and impaled him.

The incident happened around 3 p.m. Monday, June 17 as Dan Paul Butts, 63, and his girlfriend Beverly Drew, 50, were clearing trees at their Leprechaun Lane home.

“Butts had cut a tree with a chainsaw,” a sheriff’s office media release said. “Drew got into their Ford SUV and began pulling the tree with the vehicle after tying a rope to it. Drew suddenly heard a scream and saw the tree had fallen on Butts and that a branch had impaled him.”

Drew called 911 and tried CPR, but Butts died from his injuries, the release said.

While the investigation continues, deputies say the death appears accidental in nature.

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