A tree trimmer was killed Monday when palm fonds collapsed onto him and pinned him onto the tree as he was working to remove them in Bonita, authorities announced today.
According to the Chula Vista Police Department, the incident occurred shortly before 11:30 a.m. in the front yard of a home located in the 3600 block of Bonita Verde Drive in Bonita. The 39-year-old male was approximately 50 feet in a palm tree.
The crown came down and trapped the man.
The victim’s coworkers were trying to free the man from the heavy foliage that pinned him to the palm tree about 50 feet off the ground when emergency personnel arrived, according to CVFD Capt. Josh Sanders.
There were four agencies that responded to the incident, including the cities of San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, and the Bonita Fire Protection District, CVFD Battalion Chief Tim Mehrer told OnScene T.V.
First responders used two areal apparatus and a 105 ft. areal ladder to help extract the tree trimmer from the dead palm fronds. The person in the areal ladder cleared out the dead palm fonds that trapped the victim, according to Mehrer.
Authorities were able to lower him to the ground to perform life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead. According to Sanders, it took first responders about a half-hour to extract his body from the fonds.
“Unfortunately what happens with palm trees is the crowns, the dead part, can fall and that is what happened here,” Mehrer said. “We have seen this in the past with these palm fonds falling on tree trimmers. It is something that is relatively unique with certain kinds of palm trees.”
The victim's name was withheld pending family notification.
According to Mehrer, the scene is in the custody of the Chula Vista Fire Department, which will call out the resources that need to be notified, including the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California and the San Diego County Medical Examiner.
