Local newspaper report from Lakeland FL
Published Thursday, March 20, 2003
Polk Woman Dies When Pulled Into Wood Chipper
By John Chambliss
The Ledger
john.chambliss@theledger.com
LAKELAND -- A 24-year-old Lakeland woman working for her husband's tree-cutting company in South Lakeland was sucked into a wood chipper and killed Wednesday afternoon, Lakeland Police said.
Roziland Jennifer Mowell of Reynolds Road died instantly, police said.
Late Wednesday, detectives said her death was accidental.
The incident occurred as Mowell worked with her husband, Bryan Mowell, said Lt. Randy Harrison.
No one saw Mowell get pulled into the chipper, police said.
"It was a terrible, but fast, way to die," said police spokesman Jack Gillen. "In my 31 years in law enforcement, it is the most gruesome death I've ever seen."
Polk County Medical Examiner Stephen Nelson said Mowell will be examined today.
Nelson said it's the first time he's ever seen someone killed by a wood chipper in the county.
"People just don't die this way," Nelson said. "When you do see something like this, it stands out in your mind."
The incident happened about 1:20 p.m. behind a house at 2222 Cambridge Ave. near Lake Hollingsworth.
Roziland Mowell was working with her husband, who owns Ashbranch Tree Service, in the back yard of the house.
Jennifer Davies, 31, an Ashbranch employee, and her boyfriend, Charles Stoots, were also working at the house.
Davies said she was about 30 feet away from the chipper -- which was in the back yard of the house -- as Stoots and Bryan Mowell carried plywood.
As Davies entered the back yard, she heard Roziland Mowell scream, then heard Mowell's husband say, "Oh my God," and saw him run through the yard.
A passing bicyclist saw the chaos at the home and called 911, police said.
Roziland Mowell worked with the company about once a week, but was familiar with all the precautionary measures the business requires, Davies said.
In the past, Davies said she had seen her friend reach in and push wood through the chipper when the wood wouldn't slide through smoothly.
"I told her not to do it," she said. "I've seen her reach in and push it in."
When inserting wood into the chipper, Davies said the handler is supposed to stand on the side of the chipper.
Davies said a safety bar that wraps around the exterior of the chipper would enable a person standing to the side of the chipper to grab the bar if something malfunctioned.
Mowell, the mother of a 7-year-old son, Jonathan, was remembered as a petite woman with a free spirit who enjoyed arts and crafts.
"Today she spent an hour looking for four-leaf clovers and found two," Davies said. "She was very childlike in a lot of ways. She had a very big heart."
Davies, Jonathan's godmother, said she will be taking care of the boy while his father grieves.
"I don't know how (Bryan) is going to make it through this," she said Wednesday night.
Mike Ayler, a neighbor of the Mowell's said she was a "sweet woman" who doted on her son.
Ayler said she frequently saw Mowell gardening in her yard.
As detectives continued their investigation late Wednesday, they speculated that Mowell could have tripped and fallen into the chipper or her clothes might have caught on a limb.
The accident occurred on Cambridge Avenue in an upscale neighborhood just off Lake Hollingsworth.
The owner of the home, Richard Sellers, said he was at work when the accident occurred.
His wife, Judy, was in the bedroom watching television and didn't know anything had occurred until an officer knocked on the door and told her, Sellers said.
"It is a horrible situation," Sellers said.
The tree company was removing limbs that city officials had cut down on Tuesday because the branches had been too close to a power line, Davies said.
Officials described the chipper, a Brush Bandit 250 XP, as one of the largest in the business, with a 2-feet-by-2-feet opening for wood.
A Web site that sells chippers and other machinery described the chipper as one that has a wider opening and bigger infeed chute than smaller models.
It wasn't the first time employees at Ashbranch Tree Service have been involved with a death on the job.
In 1996, Paul Plynaar, 16, was killed on the job when a 30-foot piece of tree trunk fell on the teen as he stood on the ground in a yard near Lake Parker.
John Chambliss can be reached at
john.chambliss@theledger.com or 863-802-7539. Ledger reporter Amy L. Edwards contributed to this article.
