A Waterloo man died while cutting trees north of Valmeyer on Monday afternoon.

Monroe County Coroner Vicki Koerber on Tuesday identified the victim as Conrad Pete, 46, of Waterloo. Funeral arrangements are pending at Creason Funeral Home in Waterloo.

Reports indicate Pete and three other workers from American Design Builders – Forestry Division of Millstadt were felling trees in the river bottoms near Merrimac and Reichmann roads when the bottom of a tree trunk apparently kicked back and struck Pete.

“This was definitely a freak accident,” Koerber said.

Emergency personnel were called out about 1:50 p.m., but Pete was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy conducted Tuesday morning confirmed that Pete died instantly of blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen, Koerber stated in a news release.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was called to the scene to conduct an investigation into the work-related accident. Other agencies responding to the scene on Monday included the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, Valmeyer Police Department, Monroe County EMS and Monroe County Coroner’s Office.