Man decapitated after being sucked head first into wood chipper

[ScoutmasterRick]

Man DECAPITATED after being sucked head first into wood chipper in freak accident

* 'It's a huge chipper capable of processing full-size trees'

By Hannah Roberts

Last updated at 2:25 PM on 13th January 2012

A tree trimmer was decapitated after getting sucked head first into an industrial wood chipper in a freak accident.

Martin Lara, 50, of Applegate, California, died Thursday morning after getting dragged by a rope as he fed branches and debris into the chipper.

Lara's company, Bushwackers, had been hired to clear brush from a rural home outside of Nevada City when the line became wrapped around the professional landscaper's neck.

The rope was attached to some wood and was dragged by the chipper, beheading him, CBS Sacramento reported.

His body was pulled towards the cone of the wood chipper, but a colleague stopped the machine before his body was dragged inside the rotors.

Fellow crew members heard the man scream but could not help him in time.Sheriff’s Sgt. Hap Penaluna called it 'a freak accident.'

'It was a huge chipper capable of processing full-size trees,' Penaluna told the Union of Grass Valley 'It's just a tragic accident.'

Link to original Mail Online news story.l

 

[MacLaren]

I'll swear. Thats just terrible.

 

[ScoutmasterRick]

A couple of other news report on the accident:

From The La Times

Man killed in wood-chipping accident was decapitated
January 13, 2012 | 8:36 am

A Northern California man who was decapitated in a wood-chipping accident Thursday appears to have gotten stuck in rope while feeding something into the industrial-sized machine, authorities said.

Friends identified the victim as Martin Lara of Applegate, a foothill community about 45 minutes northeast of Sacramento.

Nevada County Chief Deputy Coroner Paul Schmidt told The Union newspaper of Grass Valley that a rope became wrapped around Lara's neck and beheaded him.

It does not appear that his body actually entered the wood-chipper, which was a large machine capable of processing full-size trees.

Brian Bixler, a wood-chip operator, said that the wood-chipping machines create a force that sucks brush in and it can be impossible to escape unless a worker's hand is on a shut-off switch.

"If it gets you and you don't have control of this bar, then there is no way of stopping it," he said.

From News 10

NEVADA COUNTY, CA - A man who was somehow pulled into a wood chipper Thursday morning and killed has been identified as a 50-year-old Applegate man.

Martin Lara was with a crew from Bushwackers Inc. trimming trres and clearing land at the time of the 8:56 a.m. accident. Sgt. Paul Schmidt with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office-Coroner said the preliminary investigation suggests that brush or some material became tangled around Lara's neck and his head was pulled into the wood chipper, decapitating him.

Other workers heard Lara scream and ran to him but could not do anything for him, Schmidt said.

The work was being performed on private propeorty on the 10000 block of Indian Shack Road. The propoerty owner was home at the time.

Schmidt said the victim had two children.

 

[tree md]

Terrible accident. Prayers to the family.

 

[deevo]

Wow, very sad indeed. RIP

 

[Ground Guy]

"wood chipper operator" quote

the "wood chipper operator" that the media interviewed seems to think that the shut-off bar to the feeder would have helped here. It sounds like it was too late for that to me. The rope was probably already engaged in the inner blades to apply that much force so quickly.

 

[lone wolf]

The manufactures really should make a heat sensitive shut off as soon as it senses heat in the infeed area!

 

[Ground Guy]

Too much perpetual motion

The problem is that an accident like this one happens in the blink of an eye. He didn't even have a chance to make it all the way to the feeding area. When those blades are spinning, even if you shut it down it takes so much time for them to slow down. Even in the best case scenario and he was feeding the chipper with a partner, once that rope got in the blades it may have been to late for anyone to do anything.

 

[zacker]

Holey moley... I guess this actually does prove the old saying....when its your time, its youre time. A rope, tangled in brush and thrown into a chipper gets around his neck, is pulled so tightly it takes his head off... ****!!! And his co workers saw it, they must need some counceling now. Ya never know what the heck is out there waiting to get you, be careful and try and think of every possible way you can get hurt. then avoid them. I guess this could even happen if it were a vine too.