HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - Neighbors are reeling after learning that a man died helping a friend try to remove a tree in after last weekend's powerful storms.
In a community still recovering from the damage, people pitched in to help each other in the 8700 block of Pine Top Drive in northern Henrico county.
Friends said Robert "Shane" Wade was helping a friend remove a tree Monday when the accident happened.
Renee Raymond, who rents the house where it took place, said Wade and a friend wrapped a chain around a tree stump and then hooked it up to a pickup truck.
Raymond said Wade was standing inside the fence line when the pickup truck accelerated, the chain snapped and unraveled – striking Wade in the face.
Police said Wade was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.
Raymond said Wade was a father of six-year-old girl and three-month-old baby.
Wade’s brother, Bryan, told CBS 6 News' Angela Pellerano that he was working on funeral arrangements.
“I have sympathy for the family. My heart really goes out to them,” said John Allen, who lives in the neighborhood where the accident happened.
Allen said he hopes Wade’s family can find comfort in knowing that he died helping someone.
“We're all going to die some day. But, if the way I go is helping someone else, it'll be a little easier for my family to accept,” said Allen.
