Local man killed in logging accident

Editor's note: This story has been updated from its original version, which can be found below.


TENMILE — A 61-year-old man died Tuesday morning when he was struck by a log while cutting trees on his brother’s property on Reston Road.

John Liles had been helping to clear trees away from the house at 3741 Reston Road to protect it from potential fire, said his nephew, Christopher Liles.

John Liles had turned off the saw at about 10:30 a.m. and was heading over to help his brother, Allen Liles, 59, when a log he’d been cutting slipped.

“One of the logs slid down and caught him in the chest,” Christopher Liles, 24, said.

Emergency personnel with the Winston-Dillard Fire District and Tenmile Rural Fire District were called out to the property, but John Liles died at the scene, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy and the deputy medical examiner also responded.

Christopher Liles said his uncle had been living on the property for the past six weeks or so, and had been living in Sutherlin prior to that.

“He moved out here to help my dad out on the farm,” Liles said of the man who is survived by three children.

Christopher Liles said his uncle, a former nurse at the Roseburg VA Medical Center, was the kind of guy who liked to pitch in whenever help was needed.

He cited the small project about which his uncle had recently got excited, helping his sister-in-law bundle up logging scraps to sell as firewood on the coast.

“See a need, fill a need,” Christopher Liles said, describing his uncle’s personality.

Brenda Liles of Winston said her ex-husband’s legacy is his children. The couple had adopted two children from Romania about 17 years ago, with John Liles traveling to the country to collect them. Issues with both the U.S. and Romanian governments left the man stranded overseas for several months, struggling to bring the girl and boy home. The family’s plight drew national attention.

Dani Liles is now 18 and her brother, Michael, is 21.

“He went through a lot to get them here,” Brenda Liles said, adding that her youngest noted Tuesday that she wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her father.

Brenda and John Liles also adopted a daughter, Dacia, now 25, from South Korea.

“What a legacy,” Brenda Liles said.




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TENMILE — A 61-year-old man died this morning after he was struck by a log while cutting trees on his brother’s property on Reston Road.

John Liles had just finished up a job clearing trees away from the house at 3741 Reston Road to protect it from potential fire, said his nephew, Christopher Liles.

John Liles turned off the saw and was heading over to help his brother, Allen Liles, when a log slipped.

“One of the logs slid down and caught him in the chest,” he said.

Emergency personnel were called out to the property, but John Liles died at the scene.

Christopher Liles said his uncle had been living on the property for the past six weeks or so.

“He moved out here to help my dad out on the farm,” Liles said.

Christopher Liles said his uncle, a former employee of the Roseburg VA Medical Center, was the kind of guy who liked to help people out, whenever help was needed.

He cited the small project his uncle had recently got excited about, helping his sister-in-law bundle up logging scraps to sell as firewood on the coast.

“See a need, fill a need,” Christopher Liles said, describing his uncle’s personality.