For The Tribune

A logging accident Friday north of Waymansville claimed the life of man who lived in the Borchers community.

David Hoene, 66, of Seymour Road, died of chest and head

injuries after he was crushed by a falling tree, Bartholomew County Coroner Larry Fisher said.

Hoene and his two adult sons were clearing out a wooded area along State Road 58, just north of Spray Road, when the 1:47 p.m. accident occurred, said Maj. Todd Noblitt, chief deputy of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

His sons, who did not see the accident, intended to leave their father alone only briefly to load logging equipment, Noblitt said. Hoene and his sons own an excavating company.

Both Noblitt and Fisher agreed on what likely happened to Hoene.

“It appears that a tree he had just cut down bounced off another tree, and he just couldn’t get out of the way in time,” Fisher said.

While a LifeLine Helicopter landed at the scene, Hoene was pronounced dead.

Volunteer firefighters from the Southwest Fire Department and Wayne Township in Bartholomew County assisted at the scene.

Hoene, a Vietnam veteran, attended St. Paul Lutheran Church at Borchers in far northern Jackson County.

He is survived by his wife, Karen Denney Hoene; sons, Doug, Dan and Derek Hoene; stepchildren Brad and Andy Albert; his mother, Betty Knott Hoene of Brownstown; and brothers, Joe and Tim Hoene.

The funeral for the 1966 Columbus High School graduate will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Borchers, with the Rev. Stephen Wood officiating.