A man in Kentucky tragically lost his life this week after falling into a wood chipper while working near a festive holiday display.
The Davies County Sheriff's Office told local media station WEVV that 46-year-old Joseph 'Joey' Wesley Manire was trimming trees opposite a festive light display in Owensboro when he became tangled in Christmas lights and fell partially into a wood chipper just before 5:00 PM on Monday (November 28).
He suffered traumatic injuries and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services. Police are investigating the incident but have ruled that Manire was not a victim of foul play.
Following the incident, the Owensboro Christmas Lights Facebook page penned a message on their account, urging local residents to "be cautious and extra aware" when traveling to view the display.
"Please be cautious and extra aware if you are traveling in our area tonight. There has been an accident concerning a landscaping business across the street from our display. Local authorities have our neighborhood blocked off at the moment. We have the lights on to help light the area for the first responders, but please plan to visit the display a different night," the post read.
Manire's death comes just one month after a California man also died from falling into a wood chipper on October 12. An investigation into that incident was promptly led by California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health, as previously reported.
A 17-year-old was also sadly killed after falling into the branch-mulching machinery in August, per The News & Observer. Following this, an Idaho tree company was fined for allowing two 17-year-olds to run a wood chipper.
The US Department of Labor added that the Now Done-Rite Tree Co. faces thousands of dollars of back wages, damages, and penalties after it was discovered the company additionally failed to pay workers overtime - thus, they were in breach of the Wages and Fair Labor Standards Act.
In 2018, the National Library of Medicine published a study that detailed 113 wood-chipper-related deaths from 1982 to 2016, of which 41 of the victims were caught in the machinery.
"Workers are killed every year in wood chipper-related incidents despite the repeated hazard warnings. In-depth, comprehensive, and up-to-date studies are needed to identify causal, risk, and contributing factors and assess the current control measures so that an effective and proactive prevention approach can be developed," the study said.
Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and colleagues of Manire at this devastating time.
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