AUBURN, Wash. -- A 66-year-old Auburn man was killed near the South Prairie community in what police said was a "freak, tragic accident."

The body of Vernon L. Townsend was found early Thursday morning.

Townsend, a security guard, was patrolling an East Pierce County housing development and was getting out of his truck when the ground collapsed.

The man was crushed as his truck pitched forward into a ditch and wedged itself against a rock, KIRO’s partner the News Tribune of Tacoma said.