MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- A Mooresville man, killed when part of a tree fell on him, is the first known fatality in the Charlotte area from the powerful winds and rain that have pounded the region for two days.
"It's hard to believe something tragic would happen like this," said Jason Head, a neighbor who lives across the street from the elderly man who was killed yesterday afternoon.
Investigators have not released the man's name.
He was either in his car or standing next to it when the top of an old, rotting pine tree fell on him.
He lived in a small house in the 400 block of Oakwood Street, a neighborhood that was hit hard by wind and rain, the remnants of what was Tropical Storm Ida.
"I looked out and the tree had fallen on his car," said Head. "I went over to let him know and we found him beside the car.
All across Mecklenburg County, crews from Duke Energy worked to restore power from lines that were brought down by other fallen trees.
At the height of the storm, Jason Walls, a Duke spokesperson said as many as 10,000 customers lost their power.
However, Walls says the company was prepared and had pre-positioned crews around the area, so power was quickly being turned back on as repairs were made.
On Withers Road near Lake Wylie, crews worked to fix two power poles that had come down.
Doug Robertson, who lives in one of the houses that had been without power since 8 p.m. Wednesday, said he was impressed with how quickly Duke had shown up on his street.
"I didn't think that they'd be here at all," he said. "I thought it would be several days until they got to us."
By late afternoon Walls said the number of those still without power had dwindled to the 100s.
While power lost in a storm can be restored, a life lost cannot. Back on Oakwood Street, neighbors could not get over the scene of a car still covered with heavy branches, roped off by yellow police tape.
Remembering the elderly man who used to walk the neighborhood every day, one neighbor said, "He was just an all-around nice guy."
