Tree trimmer killed in wood chipper accident in Florida

A South Florida tree trimmer has died after getting caught in a wood chipper, according to officials. 

The accident occurred at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Ocean Ridge, about 60 miles north of Miami, when a man was trimming trees on the first day of a project at the Ocean Ridge Town Hall and Police Department property.

“Upon arrival, Ocean Ridge officers found one person had died from injuries sustained in the accident, no other individuals on scene sustained injuries,” city officials said in a statement on social media. 

Lynne Ladner, the town manager of Ocean Ridge, told CBS affiliate WPEC that the man was pulled into the wood chipper up to his shoulders and was decapitated.

Ladner told WPEC that seven co-workers and one supervisor were at the scene and either witnessed the accident or heard it happening and ran over to assist the man. By the time co-workers made it over, it was too late to switch the emergency shut-off button. 

Authorities have not yet disclosed the identity of the victim but Ladner told WPEC that the man’s family lives in Mexico.

The investigation remains ongoing.