Authorities identify man killed in Hoover logging accident Thursday

Hoover police today identified the man killed in an apparent logging accident Thursday as 51-year-old John Robert Townsend of West Blocton.

Townsend was struck by a log that fell as it was being moved through the air by a piece of equipment just before 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Hoover police Lt. Keith Czeskleba said.

The incident occurred in a wooded area that was being cleared for the new Lake Wilborn subdivision at the end of Stadium Trace Parkway in the Trace Crossings community.

The logging crew attempted first aid on Townsend to no avail, and Hoover paramedics declared him dead on the scene upon their arrival minutes later, authorities said.

Townsend was an employee of the Randolph and Randolph Logging Co. in Centreville.