The EBCI Public Safety Communication Center (PSCC) received a report of a tree falling on a car on Old No. 4 Rd., near the Keener Rd. intersection, at around 9:30pm on Sunday, July 27.
The initial emergency responders reported it was a one-vehicle accident with one person in the car. William Woodrow Cornwell, 53, was the operator of the vehicle struck by a tree. He was trapped in the car and had to be extricated. He later died from his injuries.
This accident occurred during a heavy thunderstorm in the eastern side of Swain County, which is part of the Cherokee Indian Reservation.
– EBCI Public Safety
