A 73-year-old Gastonia man died Saturday in Rowan County after a tree he was helping cut down struck him in the head.
Ronnie Nix was at a home in the 200 block of Basinger Kluttz Road around 3:30 p.m. Saturday 3:30 p.m. helping a friend when the chainsaw became jammed in the tree.
According to a Rowan County Sheriff’s Office report, Nix attached a rope to a riding lawnmower and the tree. As Nix pulled forward on the lawnmower, the tree began falling toward him. The friend warned Nix to jump out of the way.
Nix jumped off the mower, but the tree struck him in back of the head. The friend performed CPR on the scene and yelled for his daughter to call 911 for help. Nix died at the scene, the report said.
Nix was the owner of R&R Distributors and Steam-Pro, and formerly worked for Long’s Meats for many years, an obituary said.
His funeral will be held Saturday in Gastonia at Carothers Funeral Home.