A man is dead after an uprooted tree came down and landed on the car he was driving in New London Wednesday morning, according to the New London's acting police chief, Peter Reichard.
The incident happened on Pequot Avenue around 10 a.m. as storms moved through and Reichard said the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver was later identified as Arthur Falconi, 65, of New London.
Neighbors said Falconi was there to transport a man to a medical appointment.
The other man was in the back seat of the car when the tree came down. He was trapped in the vehicle but only suffered a scratch.
Eugene Gibson lives in an apartment on Pequot Avenue and rushed over to help when he saw what happened, but the driver did not have a pulse. He then tried to help the 25-year-old man trapped in the backseat, but the man said he could not move.
Fire responders were able to free the passenger and transported him to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital. His injuries were minor, described as a scratch, and he was released from the hospital.
Fire officials said several trees are down on Pequot Avenue. Reichard said a building on Pequot Avenue was struck by lightning and no injuries are reported.
