A 47-year-old man who was trimming trees was identified as the man who died following a Jan. 9 bee attack near Santa Rosa.

As previously reported, deputies with the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Orphanage Road and FM 506 outside the Tierra Bonita community after a man was attacked by bees.

When deputies arrived at the scene, Adrian De La Rosa was motionless and still covered in bees, Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Treviño said in a Wednesday news release.

“Santa Rosa Police Department officers were first on scene but were unable to exit their patrol cars due to being swarmed by bees,” Treviño said in the news release.

A witness said De La Rosa was operating a boom lift and cutting tree branches when he struck an area of the tree where the bees were. 

“The bees immediately swarmed Adrian de la Rosa as he attempted to lower the lift,” the news release stated. “By the time the boom lift reached the ground, Adrian was completely covered in bees and he immediately collapsed to the ground. The witness attempted to use bee spray to scare away the bees but it had no effect on them.”

The Santa Rosa Fire Department arrived and used their water hose to remove the bees from the victim, who was pronounced dead afterward.