# Landscaper Killed Bainbridge Twp. OH Cleveland



## Grace Tree (Dec 18, 2009)

Breaking News, Death, Real Time News »
Landscaper killed by falling tree limb in Bainbridge Township
By Michael Sangiacomo
December 15, 2009, 11:29AM 

BAINBRIDGE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The owner of a landscaping company was killed Monday afternoon when he was struck by a limb from a tree.

John Gallagher Jr., 63, of Bainbridge, was pronounced dead at Solon–St. Luke Medical Center shorty after the 3:30 p.m. incident. He and two other men were trimming trees on a property on River's Edge Drive, Police Chief James Jimison said.

While Gallagher was working on a lower branch of a tree, an old, upper branch that had been lodged near the top of the tree, worked loose and fell on him. The falling branch struck Gallagher in the head.

Gallagher was unconscious when emergency workers arrived. Bainbridge Fire and Rescue took him to the medical center where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

His wife, MaryEllen said he had owned Gallagher's Landscaping Co. for 30 years and that everyone was shocked at the freak accident.

"They were trimming trees one second and then a tree branch just came flying at him," she said.

She added that the company would remain in business, despite the accident.


----------



## constantine (Dec 19, 2009)

Man, it always makes me feel sick to read something like that. The guy was a professional, he had experience (63 years old) and yet he got killed. The story didn't have any detail to speak of. Was the guy roped in at the time? Was he on the ground? Did he have a helmet? 

First thing I look for is dead or broken branches, and stuff that could fall on me. In the summer, it's also worthwhile to take a real close look (binoculars) for hornets nests. If those little suckers want to get you, there's no way to escape but down!

I'm very sorry for the gentleman and his family. Meanwhile, I'll just continue my paranoid ways and try as hard as I can to leave little or nothing to chance.


----------



## IcePick (Dec 19, 2009)

Small Wood said:


> Breaking News, Death, Real Time News »
> Landscaper killed by falling tree limb in Bainbridge Township
> By Michael Sangiacomo
> December 15, 2009, 11:29AM
> ...



Wearing a helmet or hardhat? I still can't fathom when I drive around seeing landscrapers or even "professional" tree services working without hardhats or helmets.

But depending on the size of the limb, sure, a hardhat may be rendered useless, but why take any chances?


----------



## constantine (Dec 19, 2009)

IcePick said:


> Wearing a helmet or hardhat? I still can't fathom when I drive around seeing landscrapers or even "professional" tree services working without hardhats or helmets.
> 
> But depending on the size of the limb, sure, a hardhat may be rendered useless, but why take any chances?



Sad but true. Then it's up to you to scan the tree for anything big enough to kill you which may fall. I've had stuff bounce off a hard hat more times than I care to remember. Mostly while on the ground and bumping into stuff. They don't make low-hanging or swinging branches with black and yellow safety tape. If you don't wear PPE, then you're not a "professional" in my book.


----------



## JFerg65 (Dec 19, 2009)

Bainbridge is right next door and I hadn't heard of this accident until I read it here. It is going to be a very sad Christmas for their family. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family.


----------



## Woodcutteranon (Dec 19, 2009)

JFerg65 said:


> Bainbridge is right next door and I hadn't heard of this accident until I read it here. It is going to be a very sad Christmas for their family. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family.



Same here. I work in and around Bainbridge and never heard of it. Big Bummer. Bainbridge is a very affluent suburb of Cleveland and I would imagine a landscaper that would work in that area was probably a very professional operation. The homeowners there would not tolerate junky equipment mowing their yards and plowing their driveways.


----------



## Grace Tree (Dec 20, 2009)

'Talked to a guy at church this morning who knew Mr. Gallagher. He said that he didn't know all the details but from what he heard it was a widow maker that nobody saw. He said he'd never seen him work but he'd ridden with him (he said Polaris so I took that to be ATVs) and he was safe and always wore protective gear. Too bad. Sometimes homeowners, particularly if they're long term customers can pressure you to work beyond your safety limits. Sad Christmas.
Phil


----------



## constantine (Dec 20, 2009)

Small Wood said:


> 'Talked to a guy at church this morning who knew Mr. Gallagher. He said that he didn't know all the details but from what he heard it was a widow maker that nobody saw. He said he'd never seen him work but he'd ridden with him (he said Polaris so I took that to be ATVs) and he was safe and always wore protective gear. Too bad. Sometimes homeowners, particularly if they're long term customers can pressure you to work beyond your safety limits. Sad Christmas.
> Phil



No matter what the reason, I'm very sorry for Mr. Gallagher and his family.


----------



## epicklein22 (Dec 20, 2009)

Damn, I'm in 15 minutes from Bainbridge and the tree company I work for (Yarnell) is in that neighborhood/town almost daily. Sad to hear and I will let my fellow coworkers know about it. While this is a horrible situation, professionals in any outdoor profession can take this as a learning/humbling effect.


----------



## epicklein22 (Dec 20, 2009)

Woodcutteranon said:


> Same here. I work in and around Bainbridge and never heard of it. Big Bummer. Bainbridge is a very affluent suburb of Cleveland and I would imagine a landscaper that would work in that area was probably a very professional operation. The homeowners there would not tolerate junky equipment mowing their yards and plowing their driveways.



Haha, bainbridge is nice, but nothing really special. Go into CF, GM, HV, Bentleyville; those are affluent neighborhoods. I see lots of rag and tag landscapers and tree guys in the entire area, and I also see lots of nice units rolling around. Never heard of Gallagher landscaping, but probably have seen their units plenty of times. Either way, safety is usually lacking in all companies, including the one I work for. This should be a good reality check for myself because it hits close to home.


----------



## epicklein22 (Dec 20, 2009)

Small Wood said:


> 'Talked to a guy at church this morning who knew Mr. Gallagher. He said that he didn't know all the details but from what he heard it was a widow maker that nobody saw. He said he'd never seen him work but he'd ridden with him (he said Polaris so I took that to be ATVs) and he was safe and always wore protective gear. Too bad. *Sometimes homeowners, particularly if they're long term customers can pressure you to work beyond your safety limits.* Sad Christmas.
> Phil



Phil, I'm sure you have seen plenty of landscapers trimming trees completely wrong and dangerous. I blame the homeowners as much as the landscapers. They are hoping to get the best bottom line deal and don't completely think through what the end result will be or how dangerous it can be.

Off topic, Phil, you like flat track racing? I like to follow the AMA series with my dad. I went to the miler in Columbus this past summer. Pretty cool event.


----------



## Grace Tree (Dec 20, 2009)

You're very correct about landscapers trimming trees around here. 'See it all the time. Also correct about HO wanted a cheap deal, although sometimes I think they just like having someone they know do the work, no matter what it might be. We've gotten better over the years at backing away from jobs. We usually tell them that our insurance won't allow us to work within 12 ft. of high voltage (truth) or that our insurance won't allow us to climb 60 ft. up and piece out another 20 ft. of rotten top with nothing to rig to (common sense). Insurance boogyman usally makes sense to everyone.
Flattracked back in the 1960s. Lots of courage but little skill. I broke my leg down in Chillicothe in 68 or 9 and that put an end to any real ideas of success. Still look back as the best time of my life. Keep up the good work. 
You've got too many chainsaws but I still gotta love a guy that's got an SRV guitar in his avatar.
Phil


----------



## outofmytree (Dec 21, 2009)

Sad time for the Gallagher family.

We don't have enough details to understand why this happened but it is yet another wake up call for those "easy" jobs. I do a VTA (visual tree assesment) now on every tree we work in and am constantly finding hangers just by walking 360 degrees around the trunk. 

Look up. Work safe. Wear all your PPE.


----------



## TimberJack_7 (Dec 21, 2009)

Wow that one is close to home. Sad to hear especially just before the holidays. RIP.

Phil - saw you buzzing around Middlefield the other day, you guys staying busy?

Epicklein - Did they ever fix the headlight on that bucket truck? Seems like I saw it just a few weeks ago and it was still busted haha!


----------



## epicklein22 (Dec 22, 2009)

TimberJack_7 said:


> Wow that one is close to home. Sad to hear especially just before the holidays. RIP.
> 
> Phil - saw you buzzing around Middlefield the other day, you guys staying busy?
> 
> Epicklein - Did they ever fix the headlight on that bucket truck? Seems like I saw it just a few weeks ago and it was still busted haha!



HAHAHA, that is tooo fun. That headlight has been busted for more than 2 years! What ya gonna do when the owners son takes the equipment and does side work? I'm gonna tell the owner about this, maybe we can get it fixed finally. 

Who ya work for? and where are you located?


----------



## Grace Tree (Dec 22, 2009)

TimberJack_7 said:


> Phil - saw you buzzing around Middlefield the other day, you guys staying busy?


OK, now you're scaring me. Time to dig out my Richard Nixon mask to wear around town. Seriously, we're really trying hard to wrap things up for the year. Then we'll start back up in March.
Merry Christmas,
Phil


----------



## TimberJack_7 (Dec 22, 2009)

epicklein22 said:


> HAHAHA, that is tooo fun. That headlight has been busted for more than 2 years! What ya gonna do when the owners son takes the equipment and does side work? I'm gonna tell the owner about this, maybe we can get it fixed finally.
> 
> Who ya work for? and where are you located?



Work over in Chagrin Falls for my main job so I see just about everybody drive by everday. I know when the tree season is up and running because I see everybody drive past - Ohio Valley, Imperial, Morningstar, Van Curen, Davey, bruce & craig, Yarnell, Hemlock and a slew of other guys. Been pretty dead lately though.

I own Ridgeline Tree Co. and do that part time. If you ever see a 66 Chevy C60 chip truck and a bright yellow woodchuck & duck, that's me. The equipment is old (and paid for) but it is clean. Makes paying the insurance easier when your equipment is paid for.......


----------



## TimberJack_7 (Dec 22, 2009)

Small Wood said:


> OK, now you're scaring me. Time to dig out my Richard Nixon mask to wear around town. Seriously, we're really trying hard to wrap things up for the year. Then we'll start back up in March.
> Merry Christmas,
> Phil



Merry Christmas, Phil and God Bless.


----------



## ropensaddle (Dec 23, 2009)

Falling limbs are treacherous, sorry to hear of this unfortunate accident.


----------



## rarefish383 (Dec 27, 2009)

My prayers go out to the family and friends.

Please note I'm not making any judgements on this accident. As a fourth genreation Arborist (retired) it would always burn me up how many lawn guys would try to do tree work they were not licensed or insured to do. This doesn't just happen with the smaller, just trying to make a living, companies either. A couple years ago I saw one of the major lanscape contractors in the Wah D.C. Mongomery Co Metro area doing something I found unbelievable.
This co was known for having white trucks with a rainbow painted on the doors and an almost all hispanic crew. One day I was driving down a side rd in Rockville and looked up and here's a hispanic guy with tennis shoes and a machete walking limbs over the street. Not one bit of safety gear. No saddle, No rope, Nothing. He was just walking along the limbs wacking off suckers with his machete, and that was a major company doing municpal work, Joe.


----------



## epicklein22 (Dec 27, 2009)

After talking with some locals and some guys at work. I have more info on the deceased and what really happened. 

From what I heard, Mr. Gallagher was one bad-ass guy. Still really strong and tough at 63. I guess he was a state champion in motorcross back in the day, etc. I also heard was a pretty smart guy and wasn't one of those guys doing something beyond his ability. One of the climbers at my work had recently been doing his tree work for his accounts. The climber was really remorseful and hurt to hear the guy died and hadn't called him to do the tree job. Through the grapevine, Mr. Gallagher had hung up a tree during falling and was chunking it up towards the hang up. Well, I guess he cut it to the point where it was dangling completely off the ground and the top finally fell out, crashing on to him.


----------

