# March, 2003 Incident



## Bob Wulkowicz (May 13, 2003)

Wood Chipper Death Probably Accidental
By DEBORAH ALBERTO [email protected]
Published: Mar 21, 2003


LAKELAND - Police say the death of a 24-year-old Lakeland woman who was caught in a wood chipper Wednesday appears to be accidental.

Roziland Jennifer Mowell, whose husband owns Ashbranch Tree Service, was working with an Ashbranch crew in an upscale historic south Lakeland neighborhood when she got caught in the machine, police said.

About 1 p.m., the woman's co-workers ran from the home, at 2222 Cambridge Ave., hopped into a truck and left the scene. They called police a short while later. ``We don't know why [the co-workers] left the scene,'' police spokesman Jack Gillen said.

Meanwhile, contractors working on the home across the street heard the wood chipper, which was attached to a company truck, continue to run. Police would not say whether the machine was still running when they arrived, or how much time passed before the workers called to report the incident. Gillen said the workers were questioned and released.

``We do know how her body got into the chipper, but that is still under investigation,'' Gillen said, adding that details may become available today.

The woman's entire body passed through the machine, Gillen said.

``It is very tragic,'' he said.

The homeowner, Judith Sellers, first learned about the death that occurred in her back yard when police arrived at her door.

``The circumstances are certainly not ordinary. You would think that the homeowner would have known [about the incident] because normally, they would have run into her home to use the phone,'' Gillen said.

Sellers could not be reached for comment, but a contractor working across the street from the home said he and his employees found the situation bizarre. ``It was their first day here, and we didn't hear them doing any work,'' Larry Laxdal said. ``We didn't hear any chain saws going all morning. Then, all of a sudden they all hopped in the truck and left. The only thing we heard after that was the chipper.''

R. Bryan Mowell owns Ashbranch, but the company lost its status as a corporation in November when he didn't file required paperwork, state records show. Mowell could not be reached for comment.

The incident is under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

It is not the first time an employee of Ashbranch was killed on the job. Sixteen-year-old Paul Plynaar was killed in July 1996 when a 30-foot tree trunk fell on him, police reported. Two months later, OSHA fined Mowell $750 for a safety violation.

In 1999, another tree service worker in the Tampa Bay area was killed in a wood chipper accident in Valrico. Joshua Avery, 22, of 12973 Valley Ridge Road in Dover, died when he was sucked into a wood chipper after trying to free a stuck branch. He worked for Farrens Tree Surgeons Inc.


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## TREETX (May 13, 2003)

gotta love those repeat posts??????


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## Bob Wulkowicz (May 13, 2003)

Same incident; different reporters, different information. 

Is it somehow less useful?

Bob Wulkowicz


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## treeman82 (May 13, 2003)

Bob, not to sound anal or anything... but one of the guys on here found that article when the whole incident happened. Unless my memory is failing me


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## John Paul Sanborn (May 13, 2003)

Thanks for the update Bob. I'll merge it with the other thread in a few days. 

Ever notice that the peoplea who are the harshest critics also have the thinnest skins when critisizsed?


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## Tom Dunlap (May 13, 2003)

Bob,

thanks for putting that up. An accident like this is something that is hard for [most] of us to comprehend. The more information that we have, the better prepared we can be to deal with the chance that it could happen to us. Since the accident I've shared the story with many people in the industry. Most can't believe that it could happen. 

Has anyone read the article in Arbor Age about being pulled through a chipper by the leg? It seems that they wanted to see if that is possible. After reading the article I got a better understanding of how a scientific research project might be conducted. the conclusions were exactly what I thought about at the beginning of the article, "Duh?" I did read the whole article though. 

Today when I was chipping I couldn't help but think about the accident. Even though I stay out of the chute, I could see a chance of slipping opr snagging something and getting sucked into the chipper. How quickly could I go through? 

When I was in the UK in April I had a chance to work with a small, by US standards, chipper. There is a bar mounted along the sides and just below the infeed chute that would stop the infeed rollers. Seems like a good idea. When I asked the crew, they're called gangs over there , if they bumped the bottom bar when they were chipping. It did get bumped and they had to reset the switch. Then I asked if they thought that it was a hassle or an annoyance. The whole gang said that it was a hassle but none of them minded having that level of safety. The chipper we used was pretty small, four cylinder diesel, 6" capacity, three of us could push it around in the yard. When I told the gang about the typical American system of a bar around the sides and top, they were amazed. None of them would want to have this system.

Any information about accidents is good information about accidents. Keep it coming, even if it's a repeat or old post.

I'm not too old to learn more. Maybe some people are.

Tom


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## Bob Wulkowicz (May 13, 2003)

> _Originally posted by treeman82 _
> *Bob, not to sound anal or anything... but one of the guys on here found that article when the whole incident happened. Unless my memory is failing me  *




You are correct. It was posted and I missed it. I was looking at the contrast between the Chambliss story and this one.

Hey, I won't hold being anal against you, as long as you don't hold your anal against me....

being thin skinned and all.


Bob Wulkowicz


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## treeman82 (May 13, 2003)

Bob, I have no reason to hold anything against you  I was just offering my insight, and giving my memory a little quiz


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## Bob Wulkowicz (May 13, 2003)

> _Originally posted by treeman82 _
> *Bob, I have no reason to hold anything against you  I was just offering my insight, and giving my memory a little quiz  *




I was trying to be funny...

Here we are. two boobies waiting to be hatched.



Bob W.


That was a thurberism.


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## Bob Wulkowicz (May 14, 2003)

PS: I tried to delete the post and I wasn't allowed (?). That's very peculiar; protecting me against myself as it were.


I'm done.


Bob


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