Tree cutter found after falling into a wood chipper in Menlo Park; Cal/OSHA investigation

Cal/OSHA told ABC7 News that tree care workers were pulled into a shredder during a tree pruning operation.
The trimmer who died after falling into a grinder in Menlo Park has been identified as a 47-year-old man from Redwood City, police said.
MENLO PARK, California (KGO). The trimmer died Tuesday afternoon after falling into a grinder in Menlo Park, police said.
Deaths are reported at a workplace in the 900 block of Peggy Lane at 12:53 p.m., where police arrived and found the worker dead.
The man was identified as Jesus Contreras-Benitez. According to the San Mateo County coroner’s office, he is 47 years old and lives in Redwood City.
Residents who live nearby told ABC7 News that tree trimming work could often be seen throughout the city. Many streets, including those along Page Lane, are lined with tall trees.
However, tragedy struck on Tuesday. An FA Bartlett Tree Expert employee has died, the state Department of Occupational Safety and Health said.
“According to an outside source, a worker was sucked into a shredder while trimming a tree,” Cal/OSHA said.
“We are all sick and sad,” said longtime resident Lisa Mitchell. “We are very sad. We try to imagine how this poor family and their colleagues feel. Just very. We feel bad.”
Colleagues were on site Tuesday afternoon and said the company would not make any announcements.
“We see a lot of their trucks,” she said. “So, I can only imagine how they feel because I’m sure they treat their employees like family, which is terrible.”
When the police arrived around 12:53 p.m., they found that the man had died from his injuries from the incident.
Thanh Skinner, a resident, said neighbors had previously been informed of tree pruning work in the area. However, they could not imagine that this would lead to death.
“It’s usually very calm and quiet here, and you don’t see any activity,” Skinner described. “So when I got home around 2:30 pm, the street was completely blocked off. So we thought maybe something happened to one of our neighbors.”
Cal/OSHA will conduct an investigation into the death and will have six months to issue a subpoena if health and safety violations are found.
Meanwhile, Page Lane residents said they know how dangerous the job can be on many levels. Tuesday’s tragedy is just one example.
“You hear about terrible things that can happen, but you don’t really know that they will happen,” Mitchell said. “Today they clearly demonstrated that they can.”
The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office will release the worker’s identity, and the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the cause of death.


Post time: Nov-09-2022