Man Dies After Falling Headfirst Into Woodchipper

A man has died in Virginia after being pulled headfirst into a woodchipper, according to police.

Saltville Police Chief Erik Puckett said the man was part of a crew working to trim trees at a residence in the 600 block of First Avenue in Saltville, the News and Advance reported. First responders were called to the scene just after 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The man’s name is being withheld pending notification to his family.

Puckett told the newspaper that although no one on the work crew saw what led the man to be pulled into the woodchipper. The incident is believed to have been an accident.

“It’s an unfortunate incident and I hate that it happened,” Puckett said.

Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are expected to conduct their own investigation into the incident, he said.

Newsweek has contacted the Saltville Police Department for further comment via social media and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration via email.

The incident comes after a tree surgeon died after falling into a woodchipper in California in October 2022. And a Michigan man died in October 2021 after police said his jacket had apparently gotten trapped in a woodchipper.

Workers are killed every year in incidents involving woodchippers despite hazard warnings, with 113 woodchipper-related deaths between 1982 and 2016, according to a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine in 2018.

The study found that 57 people were killed after being struck by woodchippers, while 41 died after being caught in the machines.

Young and inexperienced workers may be at higher risk after being caught in woodchippers, the study concluded, but these deaths are preventable.

The study also noted that “fully automatic feed wheel stop devices” are needed to prevent incidents where people become trapped in woodchippers.

A safety guide published on OSHA’s website advises people to wear close-fitting clothes and no jewelry when operating a chipper or shredder, as well as long pants without cuffs to protect legs from objects that could be thrown from the chipper.

People should also wear sturdy, non-slip boots to help keep a firm footing on the ground and reduce the risk of slipping and falling into machinery.

Safety glasses should be worn to protect your vision, the guide says, as well as hard hats to protect your head from material that may be kicked out of the machine.

Update 11/29/23, 7:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add additional information.

Stock photo of trees. A man has died in Virginia after falling into a woodchipper, police said.
iStock