An arborist was accidentally pulled head first into a operating wood chipper Friday afternoon and suffered serious injuries, but he is expected to survive, McKenzie Fire and Rescue said.
The arborist’s harness rope had become tangled with tree limbs being fed into the chipper, causing him to be yanked in, officials said.
However, his leg tripped the safety bar and shut off the machine just when his head arrived at the chipper blades, officials said.
Medics and fire crews were called to the 42000 block of Leaburg Drive at 1:11 p.m. for the accident.
The arborist, in his 20s, was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, which firefighter Matt Brooks said very likely helped him survive.
The victim, whose name was not released, was wearing a harness and rope before he “got fouled up in the tree limbs being chipped,” Brooks said.
The victim suffered trauma to the back of his head and a broken left leg. He was taken to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield.
The arborist’s harness rope had become tangled with tree limbs being fed into the chipper, causing him to be yanked in, officials said.
However, his leg tripped the safety bar and shut off the machine just when his head arrived at the chipper blades, officials said.
Medics and fire crews were called to the 42000 block of Leaburg Drive at 1:11 p.m. for the accident.
The arborist, in his 20s, was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, which firefighter Matt Brooks said very likely helped him survive.
The victim, whose name was not released, was wearing a harness and rope before he “got fouled up in the tree limbs being chipped,” Brooks said.
The victim suffered trauma to the back of his head and a broken left leg. He was taken to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield.