Tree trimmer trapped in palm dies

A tree trimmer died today after being pinned high above the ground against a tree in South Los Angeles, authorities said. The 23-year-old, who was wearing a harness, was suspended in mid-air while trimming a palm tree in the 4800 block of S. San Pedro Street when he became trapped in the foliage, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman d’Lisa Davies said. The tree was estimated to be about 75 feet tall.

“A large section of the frond in the shape of a ring came down and pretty much pinned him against the tree,” Davies said. “The weight was pretty significant. Our operation involved trying to secure him before being able to remove him from the tree.”

After about 90 minutes, rescue crews were able to cut away the fronds and free the man, who had been unresponsive the entire time, Davies said. He was pronounced dead after he was lowered to the ground. The name of the man and the tree trimming company were not released. The cause of death has not yet been determined.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has investigated dozens of tree-work deaths since 1990, when the agency began logging such data. In the past, gardeners trapped in palm trees have died from asphyxiation.

“We get tree trimmers stuck all the time,” Davies said. “Most of the time they’re just injured -- they either get caught in their harnesses or, like this particular gentleman, the fronds come down a little bit heavier than anticipated. It’s a precarious occupation.”

-- Corina Knoll

Photo: Rescue crew works to free tree trimmer's body from palm tree.

Credit: R. Davis

Comments

[CK]

Wow that is really, really sad. My sympathies to his family/friends.

[LA resident]

It looks like the tree has not been trimmed for 20 years. Dangerous for trimmers and pedestrians equally. Again the poor area gets neglected because the poor people's lives in this country don't matter so much.

[Mustardseeds]

OMG, this is so sad. He was so young. RIP.

[unknown]

This does not surprise me. Somehow in Los Angeles it seems fair that the LAPD can kill the mentally ill and get away with it every time. Money should be spent training officers to recognize and communicate with the mentally ill without having to kill them. This sickens me. Aren't we more than this?

[Hmmm...]

It sounds like he was crushed to death while they were making sure his body didn't drop to the ground.

It will be interesting to see if the jury agrees.

[Juan Doe]

My condolences to this man's family. I'm also outraged that the response is basically "this happens all of the time." If that's true, then perhaps OSHA should be regulating the industry a little bit more closely. How many deaths is too many before OSHA decides to step in to keep everyone safe?

[mike wallich]

Tree trimming and the logging industry is the most dangerous job that can be done. Any one can buy a chainsaw at Home Depot go out and print a bunch of cards that state "tree trimming, topping, Palms, etc"... then go out and get hurt or killed. Look in an almanac and the numbers don't lie, more people are killed or hurt through the tree industry than any other industry in the United States. More so than Police, Fire, or Crab fishing. La news was reporting erroneously that "usually, tree trimming is safe". They need to get their facts straight, I know, I have been in the business for over 30 years and have survived cuts, falls, breaks, and plenty of surgeries to fix everything.

[sergio coroando]

I have ben in this bussiness for 5 years now, I have my d49 contractor licence, but what really sucks that this being the most dangerous job, the contractor board of california does not have a trade test for this classification so most people that never hade really onsite experience gos out there untrained, osha should enforce this, there should be a trade at least the basics

[Cynthia]

I MISS CARL
The Lord needed my fiance, Carl Barker, more than I do and took him April 30, 2009. I don't know why I had to lose a beautiful man never to experience living a lifetime filled with happiness and contentment in a mutual unconditional love. These past months have been trying for the both of us but inside we knew we were meant to be together "forever" and shared such a wonderful bond that neither of us could explain to others. So why would he be taken from me so quickly and if you are listening Lord please help me understand why...

[suez]

Cynthia, I feel for your loss. I also lost my beautiful man. He is this tree trimmer. We were very happy. I don't understand why the Lord decided to take him from me. I'm not sure if I will ever understand.