HELTONVILLE — An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detective was killed when a tree branch fell on him while working at his cabin in southern Indiana.
Lawrence County Sheriff Mike Branham said a neighbor called 911 at 7:20 p.m. after coming across the accident on the property in the 3600 block of Bartlesville Road in Heltonville.
Branham said Anthony Farrell was clearing brush from his property when it appears his tractor got tangled in some vines, which caused a large loose tree limb from about 30 feet up to come crashing down.
Farrell was struck by the limb and pronounced dead at the scene.
Branham said they made contact with Farrell's supervisor with IMPD who assisted with notifying his next of kin.
According to IMPD, Farrell was appointed detective with the department on Feb. 1, 1999, and was a liaison with the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The sheriff's office is conducting a death investigation into the incident but no foul play is suspected.
