A 6-year-old boy was killed in a tragic accident involving a wood chipper on Brookside Drive in Salem.
Jeffrey Bourgeois, 6, was helping his father clear brush in the yard on Tuesday morning when his arm got stuck in the wood chipper, state police said.
The father owns a tree removal service and brought his three children to a client's house, where he was performing tree work.
"The youngest child attempted to help his father and when his father's back was turned, he picked a branch up and fed it into the chipper when he was pulled into the chipper," State Police Lt. Paul Vance said.
Police received a 911 call at 8:45 a.m. reporting that reporting a child had been seriously injured in the yard of a private home.
The fire chief is a neighbor and was the first to respond.
"The family lives right across the street from me. I saw what we had, and I kept everyone away," said Chief Gene Maiorano.
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State Police Troop K, the Salem resident State Trooper, the Salem Fire Department and Salem EMS all responded to the scene and are investigating what they said appears to be a tragic accident.
The accident happened as Salem public schools are closed for vacation. Spring recess week started on Monday.
Even though students are off this week, grief counselors will be on hand starting Wednesday.
Counselors will be available Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 3-6:30pm at Salem School.
