A Florida man was tragically killed this week after being pulled headfirst into a wood chipper. The unnamed man, a tree trimmer with Carlton’s Tree Service, was working Tuesday morning at the Ocean Ridge Town Hall and Police Department property when the tragedy occurred.
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According to local news outlet CBS12, the man was drawn into the wood chipper up to his shoulders. He was decapitated and died from his injuries.
“I am devastated,” said Ocean Ridge town manager Lynne Ladner. “It is a horrible loss of life.”
Ladner said the man’s name and age will not be released until his family members in Mexico are notified of the tragedy. She added that both Ocean Ridge Police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are investigating the incident.
Police and OSHA Are Investigating the Tragic Wood Chipper Accident
The accident was reportedly witnessed by seven co-workers and one supervisor, who attempted to help the victim. The wood chipper was equipped with an emergency shut-off switch, but Ladner said the man’s fellow workers didn’t reach it in time.
“It’s horrible,” Monique Hummel, an Ocean Ridge resident who lives nearby, told CBS 12. “I feel for the family, for the gentleman. And angry. Angry if this could’ve been avoided.”
Safety concerns surrounding wood chippers are not a new issue, said Cary Porter, the owner of another local trimming company, Boynton Beach Tree Service.
“I’ve been doing this a couple decades and we don’t use them because of how dangerous it is,” he noted. “If they’re trying to feed it in, sometimes it gets jammed and then they try to push it and a branch catches it, it’s a feeder. It can suck you right into it.”
Grief counseling will be provided to Ocean Ridge employees and co-workers affected by the tragedy. Ladner also said that the owner of Carlton’s Tree Service plans to assist the victim’s family in arranging for funerals in both the United States and Mexico.