The remnants of Hurricane Helene appear to have killed a man in Gibson County, Indiana, on Friday night when a tree fell on a home, law enforcement officials said.
According to the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred near Griffin, Indiana, in the 7000 block of South 1675 West. A tree fell on a private residence there, killing 81-year-old Herman Paul Maier Jr.
The Gibson County Coroner’s Office told the Courier & Press on Monday that an autopsy in the case had yet to be performed.
“It is believed to be due to storm-related complication(s) from Helene,” Gibson County Sheriff Bruce Vanoven said. The sheriff went on to say that in Gibson County, the remnants of Helene − which struck the Southeastern U.S. as a Category 4 hurricane last week − caused only minor damage.
“Although there was some damage, this incident appears to be a freak and tragic accident,” Vanoven said.
Helene and the intense rain that followed the powerful hurricane in much of the Southeast had caused more than 100 deaths in the United States and left nearly 1.6 million consumers without electricity as of Monday evening. President Joe Biden was scheduled to visit North Carolina on Wednesday to survey the damage.