A UW-Madison researcher was killed when a large part of a tree fell on his car as he was driving through strong winds in the village of Oregon early Friday.
Roch D. Kendrick, 46, of New Glarus, was pronounced dead just after 9 a.m. by the Dane County Coroner’s Office after the accident about 45 minutes earlier in the 400 block of North Main Street.
Kendrick was a “vibrant person who was incredibly sharp, knowledgeable, well-spoken and incredibly bright,” said Cam Choy, an art professor at UW-La Crosse who knew Kendrick socially. In 2001, Kendrick used his experience working with molten iron to help Choy create an annual event for artists at UW-La Crosse.