22 year old died in Florida yesterday.

ClimberClyde

ClimberClyde

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Portland, OR
We don't see how it happens, only the aftermath of another crewmember attempting to recover his friends body. This is a difficult video to watch, and having the sound on makes it a million times worse. Recorded from the ground you see the aftermath unfold, and it's pretty gutwrenching...

While lacking in information the gist is this: 22 year old was climbing for a landscape company in Naples, FL when a stem piece he was cutting got caught around his head/neck somehow.

I hope to live to see the day this industry gets heavily regulated because these incidents are 100% avoidable and should not happen. I've seen more and more videos of these YouTube/ticktock "badasses" that cut corners on safety thinking they are hot shit. Incidents like this are why safety should be #1 priority for everyone in the industry, starting with company leaders all the way down to the groundies.

Please be safe out there everyone. Production and money doesn't mean jack when you don't make it to the ground.
 
Just reading your post breaks my heart, but I do thank you for sharing it and possibly taking some of our eyes off the cash and the glory.
I’ll watch it tomorrow if it’s still available. When given the choice, I don’t do graphic trauma this close to bedtime.

My deepest sympathies to his friends, family, and anyone that knew him.
I’m so sorry.
 
I saw that earlier today as well, honestly the most horrific tree accident video I've ever seen.

Things went terribly wrong here but it wasn't someone looking for glory, it seems like (given the language and location) an immigrant working for a shady landscaper doing work without the right tools, skills or knowledge, and paying the ultimate price. Maybe the company pushed him to do it, maybe he was just young and fearless, maybe the company was greedy and didn't want to have a higher paid worker climb the tree, maybe they simply are landscapers and not tree climbers (probably), maybe this guy was just trying to collect a paycheck to support a family. Whatever the reasons, it never should have happened, that's for sure.
 
27RMT0N said:
I saw that earlier today as well, honestly the most horrific tree accident video I've ever seen.

Things went terribly wrong here but it wasn't someone looking for glory, it seems like (given the language and location) an immigrant working for a shady landscaper doing work without the right tools, skills or knowledge, and paying the ultimate price. Maybe the company pushed him to do it, maybe he was just young and fearless, maybe the company was greedy and didn't want to have a higher paid worker climb the tree, maybe they simply are landscapers and not tree climbers (probably), maybe this guy was just trying to collect a paycheck to support a family. Whatever the reasons, it never should have happened, that's for sure.
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I agree, this poor guy didn't have access to knowledgeable mentors to guide him, or have crew members looking out for his safety.
I really feel for this poor kid, who had his entire life ahead of him. It's crazy to me that for how hazardous this industry is the entrance requirements are still so minimal.
I really wish there was a more rigid outline of required experience/training/certs before even being able to find ourselves in a tree in a production role.
It really feels like your at the mercy of the companies culture you're with, and as long as shady businesses are focused on the dollar over properly training, I see that changing.
I don't know what it would take, but something has to change because as you stated, this never should have happened.
 
So depressing to see.

It looks to me like the top came down and a crotch on the top caught his neck and hung there leaving the climber inverted hanging by his climbing gear. The rescuer cut most of the weight off the top and it fell then he fought getting the butt of the top off his buddy's neck. The limb had been cut back to a foot or so that caught his neck. He may have been using it to push on. I didn't see a rigging rope. When dropping the top it may have gone over backwards onto the climber and his neck got caught in a crotch. He may have been pushing on this foot or so long 'nub' using it for leverage.

Damn.
 
So sad. I am speechless on this one. Looks like a casaurina tree. Heavy, heavy wood. The shape of tops are known to do very weird stuff, especially when wind is involved. Prayers go out to the kid's family. He did not even seem to have egress to the ground. Whicb means lanyard only and gaffs. Inexperienced for sure.
 
Quote from another article:

A man has died and his body has been successfully recovered by firefighters from approximately 60 feet in the air after an incident while trimming a large tree in the backyard of a home at 93 Caribbean Road in North Naples.

North Collier Fire, Greater Naples Fire and Collier County EMS crews responded to the incident at 9:57 AM Saturday morning.

A tele-handler from a job site next door to the residence was utilized, allowing the Technical Rescue Team to reach the victim.

At approximately 11:39 AM the man was successfully removed from the tree.
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This goes to something that I don’t see discussed very often, if ever. The fact that this industry is taking wholly unqualified young men, who frequently have brown skin, and are treating them like expendable crew members. I see it all the time out here in California and it makes my fucking blood boil. About 8-9 months ago I watched a young man who was clearly in way over his head lose a 50-60 foot fir top over backwards taking out a service drop and a garage roof. After the incident someone on the crew noticed all the gear in my truck so we all had a long conversation about the mishap and tree work in general. These guys worked for a major outfit and I was fucking stunned to learn about their combined training and experience, which unfortunately seem to be SOP these days. I am happy to report that 2 guys on the crew make the voyage down to my holler about once a month and we spend the day climbing and learning together.
 
rico said:
This goes to something that I don’t see discussed very often, if ever. The fact that this industry is taking wholly unqualified young men, who frequently have brown skin, and are treating them like expendable crew members. I see it all the time out here in California and it makes my fucking blood boil. About 8-9 months ago I watched a young man who was clearly in way over his head lose a 50-60 foot fir top over backwards taking out a service drop and a garage roof. After the incident someone on the crew noticed all the gear in my truck so we all had a long conversation about the mishap and tree work in general. These guys worked for a major outfit and I was fucking stunned to learn about their combined training and experience, which unfortunately seem to be SOP these days. I am happy to report that 2 guys on the crew make the voyage down to my holler about once a month and we spend the day climbing and learning together.
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Now I really really love this. I imagine all the fun you 3 have playing with all that great gear and the comraderie that goes along with sharing this beautiful trade. I feel envious. Nothing like training outside the working environs with passionate folk. Sad that this young man never got that chance.
 
This video shows the piece going over. Definitely went over backwards in the wind/weight of the piece and he got his head caught in a fork. No rigging or climbing rope as far as I can tell.

Such a sad situation for all involved. It always surprises me how long a rescue takes the fire department to perform, from what I've read it was about an hour and a half after they arrived that they recovered the body while using a telehandler that was next door at a construction site. I realize at this point it was a recovery and not a rescue, but all the more reason to have a way to repel out or a plan for a coworker to rescue you.

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I don't know if he was alive when the piece came off him, but no way was he going to survive hanging upside down for 2 hours... If I was on site I probably wopuld have tried to drop the tree on one of the neighboring houses. I think we need to have a conversation within the industry when iot makes sense to drop a tree with a man hanging in it... I think it could save some lives.. especially wwhen the palm fromds smoother a man.
 
I would imagine a crotch like that on someone's neck while upside down is basically acting as a hangman's noose. Hopefully it was quick.
 
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27RMT0N said:
I would imagine a crotch like that on someone's neck while upside down is basically acting as a hangman's noose. Hopefully it was quick.
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All the more reason to drop the tree with the man in it... zero chance of survival over 5 minutes if he was getting choked.. The tree could be on the ground in a couple minutes... maybe take the pressure off his neck.. or allow first aid to be given on the roof.. just don't drop the tree on him...
 
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