Family watches on FaceTime as falling tree kills 59-year-old, California officials say

A man died in a tree-trimming accident in his backyard while FaceTiming a family member, California officials said.

While on a video call, a family member saw Gary Maurice Zing, 59, “cutting branches on the tree” at his El Cajon home on July 5, the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office said on its website.

The family member then saw Zing down the hill from the tree when a piece of it fell on him, the office said.

When the family member did not see Zing come out from under the tree, they called 911, the news release said.

First responders arrived and confirmed Zing had died.

Zing’s death from “multiple blunt force injuries” was ruled an accident, the release said.

El Cajon is about 15 miles northeast of San Diego

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This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Family watches on FaceTime as falling tree kills 59-year-old, California officials say."

Daniella Segura

McClatchy DC

Daniella Segura is a national real-time reporter with McClatchy. Previously, she’s worked as a multimedia journalist for weekly and daily newspapers in the Los Angeles area. Her work has been recognized by the California News Publishers Association. She is also an alumnus of the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley.