Woman killed by tree service accident

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It appears there's going to be a lawsuit and Yoder Tree Service is out of business.

Of course, there's also the outside chance of negligent homicide charges, depending on why that tree hit the porch.
 
A classic case of why to keep people out of a work site area if there is ANY remote possibilty the falling tree or parts there of are within reach. Likely this accident could have been prevented had someone taken a little more time, not to mention telling the customer to remain indoors.

"The accident occurred at 8:16 a.m"- the first job of the day, and the tree was dropped in one piece?

Maybe a GRCS would have directed the tree in the direction desired? I do not think I would have felled such a large tree without piecing it down, or if it was to be dropped, used a Goods. My 2 cents, Sad story, both for the dead and those that survived, including a ruined business and a devastated family.
 
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I dont understand why they felled it in the direction of the house if there was even the slightest chance it could hit it. WHy not put the tree in the road or across the yard? Of course we cant see the whole work zone, but there had to be other options.
 
okietreedude1 said:
I dont understand why they felled it in the direction of the house if there was even the slightest chance it could hit it. WHy not put the tree in the road or across the yard? Of course we cant see the whole work zone, but there had to be other options.
Look at the stump, it's clearly decayed extensively. The hinge looks like the fibers are bent towards the right, and they were trying to make it fall left.
 
Hmmm Why were they removing the tree in a driving rain storm?
Police, fire and EMS personnel rushed to the scene in a driving rain storm and worked feverishly to attempt to remove the woman from the collapsed porch.
 
From the barber chair looks like the tree went over backwards.
fallentree.jpg
 
DDM, you're using the term barber chair incorrectly. A barber chair would show in the log, which is mostly out of the picture.

You seem to think the rescue workers are doing tree clean up. I think they are just doing rescue work.

What's interesting is to look at is the siding on the house. It's torn down on the left, and up on the right. That tells you where the tree hit, and how poorly the roof was attached to the house.
Also notice the attic window is boarded up. Think that happen before the tree care operation? I do.
 
Agreed on the board up.

Those kind of porches are often pretty flimsy. If the front posts were just a bit rotten, a good whack with a tree would do the trick.

Yeah, odd they were doing this in the rain. Emergency takedown or just in a hurry to make money?
 
Mike Maas said:
DDM, you're using the term barber chair incorrectly. A barber chair would show in the log, which is mostly out of the picture.

You seem to think the rescue workers are doing tree clean up. I think they are just doing rescue work.

What's interesting is to look at is the siding on the house. It's torn down on the left, and up on the right. That tells you where the tree hit, and how poorly the roof was attached to the house.
Also notice the attic window is boarded up. Think that happen before the tree care operation? I do.

I don't understand this post Mike.
I agree that David applied the term incorrecty. I would have said the tree broke off the stump due to bad cut, and probably winds as well. who drops big trees in tight places in the rain? who works in the rain? only ones I know are broke, and have to, or the local climate, like PNW

but that brings me to what I don't get. what difference does it make that the roof was not attached correctly, or that a window was boarded up? nothing is to be touched regardless of the house, or income level of the client. the porch attachment makes no difference. without that tree touching it, it would still be there, and the woman alive. thats the rule. no part of any tree that a tree svc touches shall ever touch any other part of the property. I bet that outfit wishes they would have stuck a climber in the tree now, instead of just cutting it over. bet her parents, husband and children feel the same way I do. click opinions on that link. look at what taking a risk by dropping the tree cost that family, and community. It doesn't matter if her net worth was $4.36, or $4 million.
-Ralph
 
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I certain they lost money on this one. It's a shame that all you need to do tree work is a home depot chainsaw. A lot of time when you go with the lowest bidder things can go wrong.
Realize that I'm jumping to some conclusions and making assumptions.
It's been my experience that the lower bidding companies work in any weather and try to get it done as quick as possible.
If you put a little more money in the job you can afford to take a little more time.
I started off cheap but learned rather quickly that I wasn't taking the "expert" path.

I truly feel sorry for the woman and her friends and family.
 
That accident happened here in Indiana. It was all over our local television news and I heard of it from 4 of my clients before I finally read the story. They all told me she was videoing the takedown, but from the severel reports I've read, I don't really know if there's truth to that. I also heard her 2 kids were nearby, waiting for the school bus, but I didn't actually see the news cast. These details are second-hand, but consistent. If she was running a camera, you can be sure it'll surface after the investigation.

Why the tree service would not have at least put a rope in the tree and anchored it out the direction they wanted it to fall.....


I believe it's just a matter of time, a few more unnecessary incidences like this, a few more untrained climbers or bystanders getting killed before our industry (here in the U.S.) becomes regulated. Wait 'til a Senator's daughter becomes part of an incident like this and watch the laws change.
 
rotten wood

I'm going to say that I'm not sure about what I'm going to say.

How's that for a caveat? Photos and not having been there being the reasons for that.

If that is rot, look how the most of the rot is on the left side of the stump, just in the place you would need good wood to help pull the tree toward the left.

The face cut appears to be too shallow into the tree from this angle.

If that is rot;
1) Probably not a climb and section candidate,
2) Rope it maybe,
But I really think that a bucket and section it are best.

Weather doesn't just contribute with effects like the wind. It distracts and reduces concentration.

If it was a large tree, how come more of the house wasn't damaged?
Was it a limb that took out the porch or just a partially topped tree?
 
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Looks like the large flat surface on the stump was the backcut. The notch on the front side is hard to see but looks to me like they directed the tree to fall to the left of the house and were successful at this. However, like a previous person replied, perhaps a large limb hit the porch and took it down.
 
A porch roof attached like that could just as easily come down by itself from just the impact of the tree with the ground. No contact even necessary. An unlucky day for everyone involved. The unsettling part was reading about the screaming. Imagine hearing that.
 
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