Overview
- Passing hikers found 78-year-old Bruce Evenchik unresponsive on a Kennedy Park trail and called for help, and emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene on Saturday.
- Lenox police said the fatality occurred during a powerful nor'easter that produced widespread downed trees and that officers had just responded that afternoon to a separate tree that fell on an unoccupied parked car on Sunset Avenue.
- Evenchik was a retired ophthalmologist and former partner and president of Berkshire Eye Center, which issued statements describing him as an influential surgeon and mentor who helped thousands regain their sight.
- Local reporting and police statements emphasize this death as a direct example of the storm's public-safety impact, with falling trees increasing the number of emergency calls and hazards on trails and roadways.
- The incident highlights the acute risks that high winds pose to people and property in wooded areas and could lead to renewed warnings from officials about avoiding outdoor trails during severe storms.