DeKalb County

Worker dies after accident leaves him dangling 50 feet high in tree

By Rikki Klaus
By Rikki Klaus

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A tree trimmer died Saturday after he became tangled in wires 50 feet high in a tree in DeKalb County, firefighters say.

Channel 2's Rikki Klaus is at the scene, where a neighbor said an accident left the man hanging upside-down for nearly two hours.

Crews worked frantically to pull him out of the tree, but it was too late, the neighbor said.

The accident happened on Pleasant Forest Drive as the workers trimmed trees behind a home.

A work truck at the scene belongs to Perez G. Tree Services. The victim has only been identified as a 26-year-old man from Guatemala. Officials are still working to notify his family.

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The rescue was complicated by the fact that the tree had very few branches, which made it harder to get to the worker, DeKalb County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Alex Lane said.

"It made it a little difficult, because all the branches on the tree were completely gone, so that changes the dynamic of the call," Lane said.

Neighbor Chad Freeman said that the man's co-workers ran to get help after the accident.

"You could see one of the workers was hung up in the tree," Freeman said. "He was hanging upside down."

Freeman said he noticed a rope around the man's neck and thinks the rope was attached to a chainsaw. He said everyone wanted to help, but there was little they could do.

"It was rough, because there's nothing you could do," Freeman said. "One of the guys climbed up there to try to help him, but you couldn't. It was terrible."

The attempted rescue was so difficult that firefighters called in their tactical rescue team to climb a tall ladder. Lane said the process of getting him down was slow and tedious.

Neighbors told rescue crews that part of the tree hit the worker.

Officials say they believe the worker's death was an accident, but they are still investigating. They are still unsure how he died.

Cox Media Group

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