Landscaper killed by wood chipper in Florida
DAVIE, Fla. - A landscaper was killed Monday afternoon after he was dragged all the way through a wood chipper in South Florida, CBS Miami reported.
Police said the victim was working with two other people at the time of the grisly incident in Davie. The workers were clearing brush around the Jewish Community Center on Pine Island Road when the apparent accident occurred around 4:15 p.m.
One of the workers ran to a nearby house and asked a resident to call 911, but by the time authorities arrived, it was too late, CBS Miami reported.
"You hear about this stuff in the movies, but then all of the sudden it happens right outside your doorstep," Joseph Horta, who lives in the neighborhood, told the station. "All of a sudden I hear all these sirens and I look outside and I see some piles of blood. It was horrifying."
Investigators in protective suits used extra care when handling the victim's remains.
"I've never seen anything like this. This is a gruesome scene," Davie Police Capt. Dale Engle said. "This isn't something you see every day. This isn't something you can just go home and forget about."
Police weren't sure how the man ended up in the machine but they said no foul play was suspected. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was also expected to investigate.
The name of the victim was not immediately released.
CBS Miami said a sign on a truck at the scene read "Tree Techs." Calls to the Pembroke Pines-based company were not immediately returned.
Authorities said police investigators and crime scene technicians were finding the scene extremely upsetting and that counselors would be made available to them.