The name of Johnny Cash's brother who died in a sawmill accident was Jack Cash. Jack was Johnny's older brother, and the tragedy occurred in 1944 when Jack was 15 years old. He was severely injured by an unguarded table saw while working and died from his wounds about a week later.
The accident became one of the defining events of Cash's childhood. In his autobiography, Cash recalled that he, Jack, and their mother had experienced an uneasy feeling about the day. Their mother had encouraged Jack to skip work and go fishing with Johnny, but Jack felt he needed to work because the family needed the money.
Johnny Cash carried lasting guilt over Jack's death and often spoke about the hope of seeing his brother again in Heaven. The story is sometimes confused with other members of the Cash family, including Johnny's sons John Carter Cash and Tommy Cash, but neither was the brother who died in the accident.