Todd Welvaert / twelvaert@qconline.com
A Davenport firefighter uses a sheet to cover a wood chipper after a man was killed in what Davenport Police were calling an industrial accident on 32nd Street, near its intersection with Belle Avenue in Davenport. Emergency crews were called the scene shortly after 3 p.m. The man's name and the company he was working for were not released pending notification of his relatives.
The administrator for Iowa's
Occupational Safety & Health Administration said inspectors are in
Davenport looking into the wood-chipper accident that claimed a life
Wednesday.
Jens Nissen said inspectors from his office on Thursday initiated an investigation into the accident at 2246 E. 32nd St., which occurred around 3 p.m. A tree trimmer was pulled into a wood-chipping machine, police said, and died at the scene. The victim has not been identified.
The owners of the home where the work was being done, Jim and Kathy McCoy, said they did not witness the accident and had not, as of Thursday afternoon, been questioned by authorities.
"We didn't hear the sirens because of the chipper," Jim McCoy said. "When the fire department and ambulance came, we realized someone must have died.
"We closed the blinds, because we had grandchildren in the house."
He said the victim was a subcontractor who was hired to do work related to a larger backyard project.
"It feels terrible," McCoy said. "It was sad."
Nissen said OSHA inspectors typically do "whatever we need to do to get information we need," including talking to employees of the tree-trimming company and any witnesses. They also look closely at the equipment that was being used.
Davenport Police on Thursday said they had no new information in the case, which remains under investigation.
Jens Nissen said inspectors from his office on Thursday initiated an investigation into the accident at 2246 E. 32nd St., which occurred around 3 p.m. A tree trimmer was pulled into a wood-chipping machine, police said, and died at the scene. The victim has not been identified.
The owners of the home where the work was being done, Jim and Kathy McCoy, said they did not witness the accident and had not, as of Thursday afternoon, been questioned by authorities.
"We didn't hear the sirens because of the chipper," Jim McCoy said. "When the fire department and ambulance came, we realized someone must have died.
"We closed the blinds, because we had grandchildren in the house."
He said the victim was a subcontractor who was hired to do work related to a larger backyard project.
"It feels terrible," McCoy said. "It was sad."
Nissen said OSHA inspectors typically do "whatever we need to do to get information we need," including talking to employees of the tree-trimming company and any witnesses. They also look closely at the equipment that was being used.
Davenport Police on Thursday said they had no new information in the case, which remains under investigation.
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Posted: Wednesday, July 29, 2015
By Rachel Warmke, rwarmke@qconline.com
DAVENPORT -- A man died Wednesday when he was pulled into a wood chipper in what police called a tragic industrial accident.
At 3:04 p.m., police and fire crews were called to the 2200 block of East 32nd Street.
Authorities said the man, whose identity has not been released, was an employee of a tree company hired to remove brush at a residential property. Residents of the home were not there at the time, police said.
Neighbors watched from porches and street corners as police cordoned off the scene. Yellow caution tape was removed around 5 p.m. when a red wood chipper attached to truck was removed from the scene.
Davenport Police said it is believed the death is a workplace accident, with no evidence to suggest anything of a criminal nature. The death remains under investigation by the Scott County Medical Examiner's Office, Davenport Police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.