Wood Chipper Kills Wisconsin Tree Service Worker

[undeterred]

I woke up hearing this story on the news yesterday. Must have been awful.

http://wcbstv.com/watercooler/local_story_229145802.html

Wood Chipper Kills Tree Service Worker
Tragic Accident On The Job
(The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Pleasant Prairie, W.I. A horrific tragedy in a suburban Milwaukee community took the life of a local businessman.

Jeremiah Sanders, owner of J's Quality Tree Service in Kenosha, Wisc., was pulled into a large industrial wood chipper Tuesday afternoon in nearby Pleasant Prairie when he attempted to free a log that was jammed in the machine. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday that the brother of the victim believes carelessness and faulty equipment are to blame for the tragic accident. The paper also spoke with Pleasant Prairie police spokesman Pete Jung, who said Sanders was pulled all the way through the chipper while co-workers tried unsuccessfully to stop the machine.

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, James Bennett, who had hired Sanders to clear branches out of his backyard witnessed the entire accident. Bennet said he couldn't believe how fast it happened. Shut it off! Shut it off!" the 81-year-old had yelled when he saw the machine grab Sanders' foot.

According to the newspaper five crewmen tried to stop the machine, including the victim's nephew. The nephew said the safety bar that is supposed to reverse the chipper's teeth failed to engage. The victim was the youngest son in a family of 11 brothers and sisters, all of whom live in Kenosha. He had two daughters, ages 4 and 7, and another child on the way. "It was stupid of him to put his foot in there, but the machine shouldn't have been there, either," said Randolph Sanders, brother of the victim. He added that he hopes the accident compels someone to enforce yearly inspections of such equipment.

Occupational Safety & Health Administration officials told the Journal Sentinel that they were still investigating the accident, but another local tree serviceman said newer chippers, such as the one approved for 15-inch-diameter logs that Sanders was operating, are relatively safe because feed rollers can be quickly reversed. Jeff Michaud, who runs Reliable Tree Service in Kenosha County, also told the paper that Sanders wasn't doing anything that others in the tree service industry haven't done while on the job. "If someone in this business says they haven't used their foot to free a log, they'd be lying," Michaud said.

[TroubleMan]

1. OMG....what a horrible way to die.

nt.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. I've used chippers many times

They still scare the hell out of me.

[MnFats]

3. ok, im taking this down myself before..

i get cruciffied.
sorry i never shoulda thought of it

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. If there's any "good" side he didn't suffer long. Terrible tragedy.

[MrCoffee]

5. This happens all the time...check out OSHA's website...scary stuff.

[Cleita]

9. Yes, it does, especially in the Northwest where there are still

mills operating, woodchipping accidents happened on a pretty regular basis when my husband and I were traveling and working in that area. Yet, since these mills operated in mostly red states, there wasn't that much safety oversight from the Republican dominated state and local governments.

Another dangerous practice from the lumber industry is to pay bonuses to the logging truck drivers to get the logs down the mountain and to the lumber yard as quickly as possible. Since in those areas where even the paved roads are mostly two lane highways, when you are driving down one you are pretty much playing chicken with logging trucks that bounce onto the hwy from almost nowhere cutting in front of you.

[leftchick]

6. this same thing happened where I live about five years ago

it is so tragic and awful. A man working for a local treeservice was eaten by one of those things.
:(

[YDogg]

13. Same here. Not too uncommon, unfortunately.

Very sad.

[undeterred]

7. I work at a manufacturing plant where there is a lot of heavy equipment

but I'm just the computer tech. Everyone in the company has to go through behavioral safety training, even the people who just work in the offices. Accidents happen when people are distracted, rushing, or complacent- not just workplace accidents, but all kinds of accidents.

I expect this guy was complacent and maybe not fully concentrating on his task. I don't think I'm cut out to work with anything more dangerous than a laptop computer!

[opihimoimoi]

8. FARGO ...this reminds me of the movie......

[Lefty-Taylor]

12. Fargo -- my thoughts exactly. What a bloody mess. The poor person!

[karlrschneider]

10. That's about a 700 millisecond trip to oblivion.

It's tragic for sure but the guy owned the machine...if the safety reverser wasn't working he
should have known that and sure as hell shouldn't have been sticking his leg in it. I saw a woman
walk into an airplane's propellor once, ugly yes but very quick.

On edit: I'm pretty sure I'd rather go all the way through one of those gizmos than get halfway
and be spit back out the front ....

[acmejack]

14. You would almost think a prop was intentional

Good god! Makes me shiver just thinking about it, was she a passenger or an aviatrix?

[karlrschneider]

15. It wasn't intentional, she was sitting on the ramp and stood up just

as a plane came up behind her. There were lots of loud engines running and we all figured she just
didn't hear it. I don't believe she was a pilot but I know her husband was/is (both were my friends).

If you're interested in details, DUmail or Email me, I'd rather not post them publicly.
[e-mail]

[guinivere]

11. Just horrible.

What a terrible way to go. I can't imagine the horror of witnessing such a thing.


I used the chipper today at work. Ours is way smaller. It's a weird combination of fun and fright. Since one of the guys got his arm wrenched pretty bad, we are all very, very careful.

[pansypoo53219]

16. i ain't reading this twice.

darwin award. DON"T use your foot to move a log. bet it was a shoe lace.
bad part foot first.
OW.

[Shakespeare]

17. "was pulled all the way through the chipper" = pureed guy

My god. What a horrific accident--I can't imagine what the cleanup must've been like, or what the poor family had to do in order to have remains to bury. :scared:

[lonestarnot]

18. Oh fuck that's terrible! My god that's terrible.