A West Virginia city councilman died last week after a tree fell onto his car as he drove his son home from soccer, a report said.

The freak accident last Wednesday on Greenbrier Street in Charleston, West Virginia left John Kennedy Bailey dead, according to the city’s mayor, Amy Shuler Goodwin.

Bailey served on the city council in Charleston and his death shocked his colleagues.

“I spent many a night talking with John in the City Hall parking garage long after council meetings had ended,” Mayor Goodwin recalled in a statement posted to Facebook.

“We’d talk about how we could fix things—make things better. He was funny and fun. He was relaxed but motivated. He was someone you wanted on your team, and we loved him so very much,” the mayor said.

Bailey was married with three children, WCHS reported.

“He’s irreplaceable. He’s one of those people that don’t come along every day,” Bailey’s friend, Bernie Layne, told the news outlet.

“It sounds cliché to say that, but John is a once in a lifetime guy. He was a character, but a really good character,” said Layne.