MANSFIELD — A 67-year-old Mansfield man died Tuesday after a tree-cutting accident.

Major Joe Maxi, chief deputy for the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, said Aaron Beer, died from asphyxia, while trying to clear a previously-downed tree on his property.

According to a report from the sheriff’s office, Beer, of 2950 Touby Road in Washington Township, was using a chainsaw to cut up a maple tree that had previously fallen on a hill. While working, a large section of the tree root apparently shifted and fell on him, pinning him beneath dirt and the root.

“There did not appear to be anything suspicious about the situation,” the sheriff’s office report said. “The victim was home alone and was suffocated under the dirt and tree.”

A relative reportedly went to Beer’s home Tuesday and saw his truck and heard a chainsaw running, but did not see Aaron Beer. When he went to see if everything was OK, he found Beer buried beneath a mound of dirt and part of the tree. The relative called 911 and then started to dig.

Eventually a backhoe had to be used to remove dirt and other debris. Beer was pronounced dead at the site and an autopsy was performed Wednesday, confirming the cause of death.