JOYCE — A logger was killed today near Joyce when the top of an alder he was cutting broke off and struck him, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said.
Scott Perkins, 49, of Quilcene was working as a timber feller west of Sadie Creek just off state Highway 112 at about milepost 42 on the south side of the road, said Brian King, chief criminal deputy with the sheriff’s office.
Dispatchers received a call at about 10:05 a.m. after Perkins’ partner, who was working some distance from him, checked on him when he realized he did not hear his chainsaw.
He found he had no pulse and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation, King said, but by the time others reached him, Perkins was dead.
“It appeared he was struck in the head,” King said.
“He sustained significant trauma.”
Perkins was working at the bottom of a steep ravine, King said, and it took until 3 p.m. to bring his body up and put it into an ambulance.
Firefighters with Districts Nos. 4 and 2, as well as Clallam County Search and Rescue members and members of the sheriff’s chain gang worked to retrieve Perkins’ body.
The sheriff’s office’s investigation determined the death to be accidental.
Determination of cause of death will be made by the county prosecuting attorney’s office, which also serves as the county coroner.
Perkins was working for a sub-contractor on a state Department of Natural Resources timber sale, King said.
State Labor and Industries is investigating, King said.
