Tree trimmer electrocuted on Far East Side

Cynthia Robinson was out in her yard when she heard the tree trimmer next door, about 30 feet up in the air, suddenly ask his crew on the ground for help Wednesday afternoon.

“Hold on, we’re going to get you,” one of the men said.

But there wasn’t anything the crew or Columbus firefighters could do until utility crews turned off power to the line he’d come in contact with.

By then, the 27-year-old man had been electrocuted.

Robinson said she called 911, and right when she did, she saw sparks up in the tree limbs.

Columbus firefighters were called at 1:06 p.m. to the rear of the 6000 block of Forestview Drive on the Far East Side. It was difficult to extract the man from the tangle of tree limbs and utility lines, said Battalion Chief Steve Martin of the Columbus Division of Fire.

Martin said electric crews were able to turn the power off and a firefighter determined that the man was dead at 1:30 p.m.

“At that point it was determined that everybody should slow down and be safe,” Martin said.

The body was brought to the ground about 2:28 p.m., the chief said.

The tree trimming company consisted of a father, two sons and two cousins. The dead man’s identity was not released Wednesday.

Martin said initial indications are that a limb dipped, possibly sending an electrical charge through the tree and into the worker.

An electric utility bucket truck was used to get to the body, said Marilyn Berman, another neighbor. The family, who had hired the crew to trim their backyard trees, wasn’t home when the accident occurred, Berman said.

Gordon Cooper, who lives on Forestview Drive, said he came home in the afternoon and saw his normally quiet street jammed with emergency vehicles. He said he saw the man up in the tree, slumped over at the waist.

“It’s very sad. My thoughts and prayers are with the family,” Cooper said.