The authorities say that recently, a tree trimmer from California was killed when they fell into a wood chipper.
The man, whose name was not released, was working on a property in the city of Menlo Park around 1 p.m. when he fell and hurt himself, according to the police.
“When police units arrived on scene, a male subject was found deceased from injuries sustained from the incident,” the statement read.
A video taken at the scene shows police officers and firefighters gathering in a shady area near a wood chipper that has a yellow tarp covering part of it.
Cal/OSHA, which stands for California’s division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is looking into what happened.
KTVU said that officials from the agency said the worker worked for S.P. McClenahan, which is a division of Bartlett Tree Experts.
According to what people said, the sudden tragedy seemed to have a big effect on the local people.
“We all feel sick and sad,” neighbor Lisa Mitchell told KGO.
“We’re really sad. We’re trying to imagine what the poor family and their fellow workers are feeling. And it’s just, it’s a lot. We just feel terrible.”
Mitchell said that the people who lived in the neighborhood with streets lined with trees were used to the services that S.P. McClenahan offered.
“We see a lot of their trucks. So, I can only imagine what they’re feeling, because I’m sure they treat their employees like family and it’s just, it’s awful,” she said.
Thanh Skinner, a neighbor who lives nearby, agreed that the accident didn’t seem to fit in with the quiet neighborhood.
“It’s generally very peaceful, quiet, you don’t really see any activity,” they explained.
“So, when I came home around 2:30 p.m., the street was completely blocked off. And so we thought maybe something had happened to one of our neighbors.”
Both S.P. McClenahan and Cal/OSHA were asked for their thoughts, but neither organization replied right away.
