Larimer County, Loveland, Colorado, USA. The decedent and one employee were trimming trees on private residential property. The decedent was disposing of cut limbs via a commercial woodchipper; his employee was in an aerial bucket-lift, trimming and dropping limbs. The employee observed that the decedent appeared to be drawn into the feeding mechanism of the woodchipper by a gloved hand. At that time, the employee began a descent and then jumped from the bucket-lift at approximately 10 to 12 feet from the ground. By the time he reached the decedent (approximately 22 feet away), only the decedent’s feet were visible as they were being drawn into the woodchipper. The employee went to the residence and requested that 911 be called.
Fig.1 The woodchipper and product truck.
The commercial woodchipper was a Vermeer 2001 BC1250A Brush Chipper. The cutting wheel was 41.25″ in diameter and 1.5″ wide, with four hardened steel blades. The intake rate was 0 to 150 feet per minute. The employee indicated that the speed had been set at the equivalent of approximately 75 feet per minute. (Given this estimated rate and the decedent’s height, the estimated elapsed time of this incident was less than seven seconds.) Information from Vermeer also supported that a 1″ to 2″ limb could be stuck or pulled through the machinery mostly intact because of the gap distance between the gears and cutting blades versus the machine itself.
On-scene tentative identification of the decedent to this point was based only on the statements of the employee. There was personal identification within the remains; however, positive identification of any person(s) was not possible at the scene.
Fig.2 Some of the remains recovered from truck bed.
Beginning with the remains on the ground between the woodchipper and the product truck, and working from those nearest the woodchipper to nearest the product truck, the remains and associated evidence were photographed, collected, cataloged, and sorted by categories into clothing, property and evidence, remains for identification (e.g., DNA, dental, fingerprints), and then remaining body parts. These bags were individually marked and sealed on scene. The area containing remains on the ground measured approximately 68″ by 22″ at its widest point.
Two fingers (later identified as the right middle and right little fingers), an intact and circumcised penis, a nipple, parts of the heart and spleen, brain matter, pieces of scalp and head hair, and multiple unidentified bone fragments were recovered. Pieces of clothing were recovered, including pieces of dark denim material, pieces of red and black plaid cotton material, and white cotton material. Personal property that was recovered included pieces of a lip balm product, pieces of currency (later determined to be from a five-dollar bill), and the frame of the right eyeglass lens.
Fig.3 Vermeer 2001 BC1250A Brush Chipper, similar as the one involved in the accident.
The same process was repeated to gather the remains in the product truck, working from the tailgate toward the cab. The area containing the remains in the product truck measured approximately 110″ by 22″. Four fingers, encased in a brown leather glove, were recovered. These included two that were attached to portions of the palm (later identified as the left index and middle finger) and the left ring and left little fingers. The left big toe was recovered, as well as a large part of the right foot that included the three smaller toes. The remaining nipple; large sections of the scalp; parts of the heart, lung, and diaphragm; and brain matter were also recovered in greater quantity than those recovered from the ground. Additional pieces of skin and scalp with short brown hair were also recovered. The largest intact piece of skin measured approximately 8″ by 14″.
Positive identification was made by comparison of two recovered thumbs and six recovered fingers. That this accident involved only one individual was confirmed by careful collection and cataloging of the remains, as well as by identifying eight recovered digits as belonging to the decedent. it was concluded that this death was an accident after the decedent had been holding a branch and then pulled in the machine by his gloved left hand.
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