PORTSMOUTH — A quiet, upscale neighborhood along Sagamore Creek was shaken Thursday after an Urban Tree Service worker was killed in a grisly industrial accident involving a stump grinder.

PORTSMOUTH — A quiet, upscale neighborhood along Sagamore Creek was shaken Thursday after an Urban Tree Service worker was killed in a grisly industrial accident involving a stump grinder.



As children rode by on motorized bikes and scooters and landscapers worked on finely manicured lawns of neighboring homes, police investigated and took photos of a ghastly and disturbing scene.



The accident occurred after 2 p.m. at 260 Gosport Road, located in the Tuckers Cove neighborhood. A fire department ambulance and ladder truck responded to the scene, but Fire Chief Steven Achilles said first responders opted not to transport the man to the hospital.



It was not immediately clear exactly what transpired, police said, but a man's body was clearly visible from the sidewalk at times next to the industrial stump grinder. At other times, the body and part of the machine were covered by a white sheet.



Police Capt. Mike Schwartz said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was at the scene and would lead an investigation into what caused the accident.



Neighbors and workers at nearby homes said Urban Tree Service, a Rochester tree care and lawn consultation firm, had been in the area for the past couple of days removing trees.



Authorities said the deceased man was working alone. Workers at neighboring properties and several neighbors said they heard the stump grinder operating during the day, but did not hear anything to indicate an accident had occurred.



State Medical Examiner Will Bartels responded to assess the man's wounds, which he described as "traumatic injuries to the body."



Bartels described the accident as unusual.



"This is probably the first stump grinder accident that I've seen," he said.



A Portsmouth police crime scene van responded to the scene, Schwartz said, because officers were unsure what tools they might need for the investigation. The death is not considered suspicious, he said.



Police did not publicly release the man's identity, saying his next of kin had not yet been notified.

A hearse from J. Verne Wood Funeral Home arrived at the scene and backed onto the lawn to remove the body in as inconspicuous a manner as possible.



Residents drove by slowly, sometimes multiple times, to get a better look at what was occurring. One woman embraced her young daughter who came running up concerned that a family pet was involved in the accident.



Neighbors said a new family moved into the home within the past six months or so. Public records list the owners as David and Lisa Williams, who purchased the property for $1.15 million in January.



Urban Tree Service workers arrived at the scene to remove the stump grinder and the red pickup truck the deceased worker had arrived in. Questions for the company were referred to President Ed Hopkins, who did not respond to calls seeking comment Thursday night.