A seven-year-old La Peche boy has died in hospital after being struck by a fallen tree Tuesday night.
Police say seven-year-old Alexis Breton Sanctuaire was in a hole that was left open when Sunday's storm uprooted a tree on a friend's property in La Peche.
The boy's father went over to help remove the tree. But as he started pruning, the tree's weight shifted, trapping his son underneath.
"The tree was down and the roots were showing, so the boy was behind the tree. When the dad cut the tree, it released some pressure and the stump went back to its original position, burying the kid under," said Martin Fournel, a spokesperson for MRC des Collines de l'Outaouais.
The child's parents tried to dig him out with their hands, but it didn't work. He was only freed when a neighbour showed up with a pick-up truck. They tied a chain around the stump and managed to move it.
The boy was taken to hospital in Wakefield where doctors managed to revive and stabilize him. He was then rushed to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance struck a deer.
The boy died from his injuries in hospital at about 10:30 Tuesday night.
Police say everyone involved did their best to try to save the child. The family is in shock.
"They're not doing good. Obviously, it's a shock for them, losing their only boy under those circumstances. It's pretty hard for them," Fournel told CTV Ottawa on Wednesday.
Friends and neighbours who know the family say they can't believe the series of events.
"So sad, so sad. Because he was full of life, that child, he was happy," said family friend Solange Lacroix.
"Hard to take. He was a very nice little boy, always happy, always on lawnmowers, tractors, snowmobiles," added Gilles Gaulthier, who has known the family for years.
An autopsy on the boy's body will be conducted in the next few days.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Claudia Cautillo
