A routine tree-cutting job turned deadly in Pennsylvania when a contractor was killed after a massive section of the tree suddenly snapped above him and came crashing down.

Ryan John Jenny, 42, of Houston, Pennsylvania, died Monday, June 1, after being struck by the falling tree while working at a private home in Canton Township, according to the Washington County Office of the Coroner.

Jenny had been hired to cut down a tree at a residence on Lynn Portal Road. What began as a normal job quickly became a horrifying accident when the tree reportedly fractured high above him as he worked near the base.

Greene Washington Regional Police Chief William DeForte said Jenny was cutting the tree properly when disaster struck.

“While he was cutting at a lower level, there was a stress fracture, which happened approximately 25 feet above his head where the tree had snapped, causing the entire weight of the tree to fall upon him,” DeForte said, according to WTAE.

The police chief stressed that the fatal accident did not appear to be the result of careless work.

“He was cutting the tree in a correct fashion,” DeForte said, according to KDKA-TV.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene and attempted life-saving measures, but Jenny could not be saved. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shocking death left the homeowners devastated. According to DeForte, the family had personally known Jenny before hiring him for the job.

“It was an extraordinary traumatic event for the homeowners,” DeForte said. “They are very shaken up.”

The accident is still under investigation, according to the Observer-Reporter.

The tragedy is a grim reminder of how dangerous tree-removal work can be, even when handled by someone following proper procedures. A tree can appear stable from the ground, but hidden fractures, shifting weight, rot, wind stress, or internal damage can turn a routine cut into a deadly collapse in seconds.

Jenny’s death has left a Pennsylvania community grieving a man who went to work that day expecting to complete a job, only for a sudden and catastrophic failure in the tree to take his life.