Not exactly how I want to go out...(kinda gross)
Posted: July 7, 2005 12:03 pm
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGB43NNDUAE.html
Worker Clearing Wood Chipper Pulled To Death
By LAURA KINSLER
Published: Jul 7, 2005
TAMPA - A pile of wood chips 6 feet high was soaked with blood Wednesday afternoon after a Tampa construction worker died while clearing a lot on 127th Avenue.
A black high-top tennis shoe, barely recognizable, rested atop the pile next to the wood chipper.
``A piece of wood got stuck, and he tried to clear it out,'' said 12-year-old Luis Santiago, a witness. ``But he got pulled in. He yelled, `Help me! Help me!' But the other worker couldn't turn the machine off in time.''
The man worked for James Hardman Construction. He is the fourth person in the Tampa area to die in recent years after being pulled into a wood chipper. Authorities did not release the man's name, but they said he was in his mid-40s and had worked for the company about a year.
``These kind of accidents are few and far between,'' Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesman J.D. Callaway said. ``These are incredibly dangerous types of equipment. Usually what happens is something gets stuck, and the victim tries to clear it with his hand or foot, then they get pulled in.''
Such accidents create gruesome scenes that test the fortitude of seasoned deputies, Callaway said.
Several children witnessed the 3:15 p.m. accident. ``We thought it was red mulch at first,'' Stephanek Henry said. The 12-year-old girl ran into her grandmother's apartment screaming for help.
In a neighborhood hardened by crime and poverty, the death provided little more than a morbid distraction on an insufferably hot day. Crowds gathered in apartments across the street; some people drank beer.
Another group of neighbors looked on from the adjoining apartment complex. One man filmed the scene with his camcorder. People drove by with their car windows down and subwoofers pounding out rap music.
Children ate candy and watched as crime scene technicians tried to process the man's remains, still lodged in the mouth of the chipper.
``We'd like to think these kids are not totally desensitized to this,'' Callaway said. ``It's important for parents to talk to their kids after they've witnessed something like this.''
Stephanek's grandmother, Mary Walker, said she was not worried about the child. ``She's tough,'' the woman said. ``Nothing bothers her unless she thinks she's going to get a whooping.''
For 12-year-old Luis, the reality began to sink in about two hours after the accident as he sat on his bike and waited for his parents to come home. He said he planned to go to church Wednesday night.
``I don't ever want to be a construction worker,'' he said. ``It's too dangerous.''
Worker Clearing Wood Chipper Pulled To Death
By LAURA KINSLER
Published: Jul 7, 2005
TAMPA - A pile of wood chips 6 feet high was soaked with blood Wednesday afternoon after a Tampa construction worker died while clearing a lot on 127th Avenue.
A black high-top tennis shoe, barely recognizable, rested atop the pile next to the wood chipper.
``A piece of wood got stuck, and he tried to clear it out,'' said 12-year-old Luis Santiago, a witness. ``But he got pulled in. He yelled, `Help me! Help me!' But the other worker couldn't turn the machine off in time.''
The man worked for James Hardman Construction. He is the fourth person in the Tampa area to die in recent years after being pulled into a wood chipper. Authorities did not release the man's name, but they said he was in his mid-40s and had worked for the company about a year.
``These kind of accidents are few and far between,'' Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesman J.D. Callaway said. ``These are incredibly dangerous types of equipment. Usually what happens is something gets stuck, and the victim tries to clear it with his hand or foot, then they get pulled in.''
Such accidents create gruesome scenes that test the fortitude of seasoned deputies, Callaway said.
Several children witnessed the 3:15 p.m. accident. ``We thought it was red mulch at first,'' Stephanek Henry said. The 12-year-old girl ran into her grandmother's apartment screaming for help.
In a neighborhood hardened by crime and poverty, the death provided little more than a morbid distraction on an insufferably hot day. Crowds gathered in apartments across the street; some people drank beer.
Another group of neighbors looked on from the adjoining apartment complex. One man filmed the scene with his camcorder. People drove by with their car windows down and subwoofers pounding out rap music.
Children ate candy and watched
as crime scene technicians tried to process the man's remains, still lodged in the mouth of the chipper. ``We'd like to think these kids are not totally desensitized to this,'' Callaway said. ``It's important for parents to talk to their kids after they've witnessed something like this.''
Stephanek's grandmother, Mary Walker, said she was not worried about the child. ``She's tough,'' the woman said. ``Nothing bothers her unless she thinks she's going to get a whooping.''
For 12-year-old Luis, the reality began to sink in about two hours after the accident as he sat on his bike and waited for his parents to come home. He said he planned to go to church Wednesday night.
``I don't ever want to be a construction worker,'' he said. ``It's too dangerous.''
