Bucket operator hurt in crash
A lift operator trimming trees from a bucket truck July 6, 2022, in Bloomington, Minnesota, was severely injured when a semi-truck collided with the elbow of the lift’s boom, causing the operator to fall to the ground.
Investigators say the bucket truck was parked on the sidewalk and the semi’s trailer struck the boom. The worker, a 33-year-old Minneapolis man, was seriously injured. Emergency crews brought him to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
The semi’s driver, a 59-year-old Belle Plaine man, was unharmed. Investigators say he showed no signs of impairment and cooperated with officers, according to a CBS Minnesota news report.
Worker dies in fall from tree
A man died after falling from a tree he was cutting July 9, 2022, in Adams County, Mississippi.
Clyde Bernard, 60, of Natchez, Miss., was reportedly wearing safety gear at the time of the fall, according to a report in the Natchez Democrat.
Man seriously injured in struck-by
A man was hospitalized with severe injuries July 12, 2022, after a tree he was cutting fell on him in Bangor Township, Michigan. Responding sheriff’s deputies found the 25-year-old local man had been helping a friend cut down a dead ash tree when the tree fell on him, according to an mlive.com report.
Lift operator dies in fall
A tree-company owner died July 13, 2022, in Opelousas, Louisiana, after falling from the lift he was operating.
Kevin Thomas, 50, of Opelousas, had been contracted by the city to trim some trees. He was working on what appeared to be dead trees on city-owned property when he fell, according to a KATC Channel 3 news report.
Homeowner dies in struck-by
John Kennedy, 53, of North Aurora, Illinois, died from injuries he sustained in a fall July 14, 2022, while trimming trees on his property.
Kennedy fell and a tree branch fell on top of him, according to a shawlocal.com report.
Worker dies in woodchipper accident
A worker was taken to the hospital and later died after getting pinned under a woodchipper July 14, 2022, in Troy, Michigan.
Two men were working on a woodchipper when one of them got pinned underneath it. The chipper was not turned on at the time, according to a clickondetroit.com report.
Property owner injured in struck-by
A man sustained injuries July 19, 2022, after a tree pinned him to his tractor in White Oak, North Carolina.
It was unclear exactly what happened that caused the tree to fall onto the tractor, but it is believed the man was trying to relocate the tree with the tractor after it had been cut down, and that the tree rolled on top of the man in the process. It took responders approximately one hour to fully free the victim, according to a northcarolinatime.com report.
Landscaper dies in lightning strike
A landscaper died July 23, 2022, four days after being struck by lightning while mowing a lawn or trimming a tree in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Julio Ceasar Lopez, 27, did not have a pulse and was not breathing after being struck July 19.
His family said he spent four days in the hospital before succumbing to his injuries, according to a fox35orlando.com report.
Worker injured in jump from burning bucket truck
Police, firefighters and paramedics in Arlington Heights, Illinois, responded to a report of a truck fire next to a house July 21, 2022. They arrived to find an aerial-lift tree truck on fire in the backyard of a single-family residence, and an injured tree trimmer.
The fire involved the truck cab and was quickly extinguished. The injured tree trimmer was treated and transported to a nearby hospital by paramedics.
The worker had been aloft in the aerial-lift bucket removing branches from a large tree in the backyard when the truck caught on fire. The lift operator jumped out of the bucket and was injured in the fall, according to a Cardinal News and arlingtoncardinal.com report.
Man dies from struck-by injuries
A worker died after being struck by a cut limb while clearing trees July 22, 2022, in Stonecrest, Georgia. Workers were clearing a treed lot in preparation for construction when a branch came down on the victim. By the time fire rescue arrived, the man’s co-workers had lifted the huge branch off of him. Firefighters performed CPR, and the man was transported to Atlanta Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries, according to WSBTV and CBS46 News reports.
Tree worker killed in ATV accident
An employee of a line-clearance company died in an ATV accident July 22, 2022, in Houston County, Minnesota.
Kyla Wimer-Wood, 33, of Owatonna, Minn., was working for a tree service based in Ottertail, Minn., at the time of the accident. She was the driver and only occupant of the ATV at that time. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a KAAL TV, Channel 6 News report.
Lift operator rescued from bucket
Firefighters in Del Ray Beach, Florida, rescued a worker who found himself stuck in a bucket while trimming trees after his truck caught fire July 23, 2022.
The worker was near the top of a tree he was trimming when the truck caught fire. The fire moved from the truck toward the bucket, but firefighters managed to reach him using the ladder on their truck, according to a WPEC cbs12.com report.
Tree trimmer shocked
A man was hospitalized in critical condition after he suffered an electric shock while trimming a tree at a house July 24, 2022, in unincorporated Tustin, California.
Responding firefighters heard landscapers in a tree yelling for help after one of them contacted electrical wires. The men were holding a man who was unresponsive. The firefighters used an aerial ladder to reach the men and took the injured man to a hospital in critical condition, according to a Fox11 Los Angeles report.
