Rocky Point man killed by tree limb while helping friend in storm

ROCKY POINT, NC (WWAY) — While most of us see this winter storm as an inconvenience, it cost one man in Pender County his life.

Darrell Huffman was crushed under the weight of a frozen tree limb yesterday in rocky point.

“I’ll miss him,” neighbor Frank Snyder said. “He was my best friend.”

Snyder says Huffman was always ready to lend a hand.

“As soon as I found out it was Darrell, first thing I told my wife was that I guarantee you Darrell was out helping or trying to help somebody,” said Franklin Faircloth Jr., who owns the trailer park where Huffman lived.

Snyder needed help removing a tree limb after the storm left his trailer with a hole in the roof

“We decided it would probably take more than him, ’cause I’m about half-crippled,” Snyder said.

Snyder says he heard a cracking sound right before this branch came tumbling down to the ground.

“It was really loud,” he said. “It was like it was calling out, ‘Here I am. I’m coming.’ He just wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way.”

Friends and neighbors say Huffman will be dearly missed.