Wood Chipper Kills Worker

Wearing gloves around moving machinery can be a recipe for disaster, as a recent fatality in Colorado illustrates.

Brian Morse, a 54-year-old tree service company owner, was fatally pulled through a wood chipper outside a home in Loveland, CO. He was identified through fingerprints.

Morse’s partner was cutting branches from a hydraulic bucket and witnessed the ghastly incident. He summoned help but there was nothing that could be done.

OSHA officials were investigating to determine whether the wood chipper’s safety equipment was functioning properly.

Figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that such fatalities aren’t as rare as some people might think. There were 31 mobile wood chipper occupational fatalities throughout the United States between 1992 and 2002.