Man killed by stump grinder in NJ

[juststumps]

let's see,, yesterday,,,taking the dead top out of a tulip,,,,

partner is about 40 ft up in the bucket,,,i'm on the rope,,,

cones out,,,,,

chain saw SCREAMING,,, i have a death grip with two hands on the rope,, thru a figure eight,,, 300- 400 pound piece going south,,,,

HERE COMES SOME SLAPPING A$$H*LE ,, WALKING UP TO ME,, LOOKING FOR DIRECTIONS!!!!!!!!

WHAT DO YOU DO????? GUY IN THE BUCKET IS IN MID CUT,,, I GOT TWO HANDS ON THE ROPE,,,, CUTTER ISN'T GOING TO HERE ME YELLING TO STOP WITH THE SAW RUNNINNG!!!!!

he's focused on not killing himself or me,, and visa versa!!!!

the only thing i could do at the time was yell "GET THE F%^K OUT OF HERE !!!

needless to say she didn't leave looking to happy.....

 

[juststumps]

sure it's homeowner's fault for being too stupid to realize just how dangerous it is to get too close.

but still maintain it's mostly operator's fault. if someone for what ever reason crosses safety line. then operator should immediately shut machine down until safe zone is restored.

yelling at someone is next to worthless with a super loud machine running. shut it down!

with that logic,,, there wouldn't,,, shouldn't be any deer car collisions....

when you see the deer,,, you should stop the car,,, problem solved !!!!!!!

if ever it was so easy!!!!!!

some times the timing isn't there.......and bad stuff happens..... sad to say...

 

[Farmer Ferd]

I was running the same machine once a carlton 400-4 in some guys yard. I had cones set up all about 10' away all around this diesel engine is load and running full bore. two kids about 12 years old come running out of the neighbors yard running right towards the business end of this machine I quick turn it off and start running at them screaming and waving they come to a staggering halt about 10 feet from the machine. I don't know who was more scarred. short of putting up a barrier what can you do.

 

[squad143]

The best you can do is follow due diligence and try and plan for the unexpected and hope for the best and at least have your a$$ covered as best as possible if s*#! happens.

We work in a very different world. Day in and day out we see trees getting topped, guys hanging in their saddles by rope, brush getting eaten faster than you can blink or stumps being pulverized. We see this all the time. The public/customer does not.

People are curious, they want to see the unusual and most times are completely unaware of the dangers. How many of us slow down to look at a car accident? All of us right? It is up to us to expect the curious nature of humans and do our best (rope, tape, cones, etc.) to keep them out of the "hot zone".

True, we can't keep the complete idiot from being themselves, but we can at least say to ourselves that we did do everything possible to prevent the accident from occurring.

 

[ropensaddle]

This post has given me ideas I am leaning toward a quick
hot fence charger run off inverter place around work jone
and wake up intruders!

 

[newguy18]

My condulences to the family and operator.I will pray for these people and hope that from this tradgedy someone wises up and learns something so this doesn't happen again.

 

[046]

don't get me wrong... sh*t happens.

but there's a world of difference between a deer running in front of your car. where you have no control of when/if that happens.

vs a dangerous work zone you should have control over.

that's it... I'm outa of this thread..

with that logic,,, there wouldn't,,, shouldn't be any deer car collisions....

when you see the deer,,, you should stop the car,,, problem solved !!!!!!!

if ever it was so easy!!!!!!

some times the timing isn't there.......and bad stuff happens..... sad to say...

 

[alanarbor]

My opinion is, the machine should have been shut down before the homewner got anywhere within the range of influence. That wheel can throw rocks, chunks, of stump etc. in a 45 degree field in front of the machine. We as people who use this equipment all the time, know this.

Homeowners don't.

If a homeowner (or co-worker for that matter) enters that area of influence, even 25' away it's time to shut down, and politely tell them they need to vacate the area for their own safety.

That is why I really prefer stumpers with a hydraulic drive wheel. You can stop that wheel almost instantly by closing the valve. Not that it would have helped in this case. I'm sure it happened in an absolute split second.

 

[juststumps]

don't get me wrong... sh*t happens.

but there's a world of difference between a deer running in front of your car. where you have no control of when/if that happens.

vs a dangerous work zone you should have control over.

that's it... I'm outa of this thread..

yes,, sh*t does happen !!!!!

and really,, there is no difference.....

we are talking in seconds here,,, it does not take that long for someone to encroach a work zone,,, burying that wheel,,is the way to go,,, but you might not get it done in time.....

look up,around,, look at your work,,, repeat as needed.....

i had a grinding job a while back,, doing me thing,,, next thing i know,, the next door guy is 5 feet from the wheel yelling and waving his arms at me....

it only took seconds,,,for him to get there,,, kill the wheel,, go up to talk to einstien......he wants to know why i cut his trees down..... tell him "I didn't cut your trees down,, i'm just here to grind stumps,,,i really don't think that they are your trees (surveying flags) AND YOU CAN"T BE BY THIS MACHINE,,, YOU COULD GET KILLED<< NOW GET THE F OUT OF HERE AND TALK TO THE HOME OWNER!!!! "

go back to grinding,, next thing i know,, einstien and the home owner are back in front of the wheel,, shut it down again....

now i just told this stupid SON OF A B&^TH,, to stay away!!!!!

what can you do?????

they say accidents can be avoided,,, thats true to a point,,, but they still call them accidents for a reason.....

 

[squad143]

No one calls 911 because something went well.

 

[AngelofDarkness]

Holy ****** crap! That's a truly horrible way to die! I feel terrible for him and his family.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

My agreements read to the effect that the work area is a "hardhat area" and that clients and their family must warn the workers and allow them a chance to stop work before entering the work area.

I have people initial that clause, especially on large jobs that will last several hours.

On a job for one of my climbing clients I saw the h/o walk under the limb my "boss" was taking off. If I had not yelled for several seconds, there would have been a struck-by injury.

You must do every thing you can to CYA, living with the death or injury is just the start. A civil case may see that the professional was responsible for the safety of other people.

If you had no boundaries, or written agreement, you could loose everything. Still having to live with the fact that some one died on your job.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

The more idiot proof we try to make this world, the bigger the idiots that are created.

In this case I think both men were clearly in the wrong. How someone could see that machine working and not think it was something to stay clear of is a mystery to me. As for the operator, he was at fault, he should have shut the machine down and briefed the guy on safe distance etc.

Sad, but possibly an education for others.

 

[2FatGuys]

Placing blame is a self-preservation reaction that should never have to happen. A properly prepared work site, with proper HO notification, and a responsible and observant operator helps to prevent horrible accidents like this from happening. As someone previously stated, we see this equipment and action all the time. Sometimes I think we can take it for granted and not be as safety conscious as we should be. I don't want to beat up on the operator too much. He has a long road to his own emotional recovery. I just hope that others learn from it and reduce the risk on other jobs.