A local oil man was killed in what officials called “a freak accident” while working on an oil pipe Tuesday afternoon.

Gene Radzewicz, 56, was killed when a very large pipe under pressure burst and the cap hit him in the chest, Adams County Coroner James Lee said.

“He sustained a very bad blunt chest trauma,” Lee said. “He received massive internal injuries to the chest. Paramedics brought him to (Natchez Regional Medical Center), and he was pronounced dead by myself shortly after 4 p.m.”

Because Radzewicz was killed on the job, his body will be autopsied at the state crime lab, Lee said.

“This was a very bad accident in my opinion,” Lee said, “and we never want to see these things happen, especially this time of year.”

Adams County Sheriff Ronny Brown said Radzewicz was working at an oil site near the former International Paper Mill when the accident happened.

“It was just a freak accident,” Brown said.

Radzewicz was president of REDCO and left behind a wife and four children, from 10 to 19 years old, said Janet Dillard, a friend of the family, speaking for Radzewicz’ wife, Anne.

“Gene was just a person everybody enjoyed being around,” Dillard said. “He had a good sense of humor and a wonderful love for his friends and family — a very family-oriented person.”

Ken Janette, a fellow oil businessman, said everyone knew and loved Radzewicz.

“He was a hands-on type of guy,” Janette said. “He loved to be out in the field. He’d been doing it for years. Of course, he was a geologist by trade but really a hands-on guy out in the field.”

The job can be hazardous, Janette, who owns and operates several wells, said.

“There’s a good amount of danger that goes with the oil business and in an oil field,” he said. “You just never know. The dangers of being around that stuff is something you just never know.”