Virginia man dies in wood chipper accident

[toppers]

A Virginia man has died after being pulled head-first into a wood chipper on Tuesday.

The man, whose name has not been released, was trimming a tree and was a part of a crew working on a home in Saltville, Virginia, several local outlets reported.

The Saltville Police Department did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment but Police Chief Erik Puckett told WCYB that the incident happened at around 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

“It’s an unfortunate incident and I hate that it happened,” Puckett said, according to the The News & Advance.

The death was ruled an accident, The News & Advance reported that no one on the crew witnessed what caused the man to fall into the wood chipper.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified of the incident, WCYB reported.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...per-accident-man-killed-virginia/71738550007/

 

[Bill G]

Very, very sad. My prayers go out to all the family and friends of the deceased.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

Man that’s terrible.

 

[pdqdl]

I wonder how they knew he went in headfirst. Presumably, there wouldn't be enough left to make any guesses.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

I wonder how they knew he went in headfirst. Presumably, there wouldn't be enough left to make any guesses.

It's just poorly written. If you look at the end of the article she states no one knows what caused him to "fall" into the chipper.

 

[Del_]

I wonder how they knew he went in headfirst. Presumably, there wouldn't be enough left to make any guesses.

First in, first out.

Looking at layers in the chip truck.

Maybe.

When I read of these kind of accidents I often wonder if the victim was struck in the head by a limb hitting the feed rollers. I've seen sections with no twigs get waved violently back and forth like a baseball bat. It's not hard to imagine a head strike and then falling onto other brush being pulled in by the feed rollers.

I imagine that pushing brush with the feet is the most common way to get pulled in.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

I know I don't miss feeding those bastards, a necessary evil. Having said that, I'm sure there was a breakdown in procedure or protocol somewhere.

 

[Heat Maxx]

Prayers to the families, just so sad. Same thing happended in Kenosha around 2010ish. Totally agree you JollyLogger, blessed not to have to feed them any longer.

 

[scut207]

climbing rope? Ive seen some safety videos of a dummy being sucked into a chipper. Effin Scary.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

I wonder how they knew he went in headfirst. Presumably, there wouldn't be enough left to make any guesses.

Maybe a crew member, limb, or the deceased's body hit a safety bar, ...or possibly the shoulders didn't fit. Whatever happened is likely accompanied by horrible memories for the crew. Any clothing a limb can twist into and snag on is a risk.

I imagine some crews disable safety bars because they trigger easily and subsequently trigger frequently which requires a time-consuming safety reset each occurrence. How many seconds are gained by disabling a safety? Answer: Possibly a lifetime.

 

[Bill G]

I wonder how they knew he went in headfirst. Presumably, there wouldn't be enough left to make any guesses.

Does it matter.....

 

[Oletrapper]

Very, very sad. My prayers go out to all the family and friends of the deceased.

Ditto

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Does it matter.....

Yes, it matters. The only way to move the industry forward is to learn from these tragedies and make moves to prevent them in the future. Every safety rule was written in blood before it was written in ink.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Does it matter.....

That one still bugs me a bit... are you suggesting we don't investigate accidents to make sure they aren't repeated? Are safety manuals a waste of time? How do you think they were written?

 

[Oletrapper]

Yes, it matters. The only way to move the industry forward is to learn from these tragedies and make moves to prevent them in the future. Every safety rule was written in blood before it was written in ink.

I have to respectfully disagree. You can have all the safety rules in the world and sometimes you just can't fix stupid. jmho OT

 

[user 188535]

climbing rope? Ive seen some safety videos of a dummy being sucked into a chipper. Effin Scary.

 

[Oletrapper]

I wonder how they knew he went in headfirst. Presumably, there wouldn't be enough left to make any guesses.

I would think there were witnesses, crew members, etc. OT

 

[TheJollyLogger]

I have to respectfully disagree. You can have all the safety rules in the world and sometimes you just can't fix stupid. jmho OT

You're making my point for me, OT. Education, safety standards, and training. I don't know if you have ever seen Asplundhs orientation video, but it is brutal... and the kids pay attention to the rules after that.

 

[user 188535]

You're making my point for me, OT. Education, safety standards, and training. I don't know if you have ever seen Asplundhs orientation video, but it is brutal... and the kids pay attention to the rules after that.

Post it.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Mets, the most terrifying moment I had in a tree, even more than my accident, was when I looked down and saw a newbie groundie headed towards the chipper with a wad of brush dragging my lifeline with him. I was yelling and hauling rope up as fast as I could, and cleared it about 6 feet from the chipper. I have no doubt it would have been catastrophic, just a question of what would have broken first, my TIP, my rig, who knows. Needless to say, I never worked with him again.