Daniel Vanheyst Oshawa, Toronto wood chipper with Eco Tree Care dies in horror accident while at work. Investigation underaway.
A Canadian man has died after he was pulled into a wood chipper in the middle of a suburban street Wednesday morning.
Daniel Vanheyst, 22, had been removing trees in Oshawa, near Toronto, on Wednesday at 8.39 am when the tragic accident occurred.
A local resident told the Toronto Sun that he was filming the crew disposing of tree branches at the exact moment Vanheyst got caught up in the chipper.
‘I saw his feet leave the ground. It was that quick,’ the unnamed man said.
He said he rushed over to help after seeing Vanheyst’s co-worker run to turn off the wood chipper. It continued to remain unclear how the worker got pulled into the machine.
Sad start to the day as a young man is killed in a wood chipper accident in Oshawa. @TheTorontoSun pic.twitter.com/FNxzvxWWEE
— Kevin Hann (@TorSun21) March 16, 2022
Hard working and Godly
‘It wasn’t a good scene for the young boys,’ the resident added.
Vanheyst was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victim’s co-workers could be seen embracing each other as police roped off the machinery and street.
Vanheyst, a resident of Verona, was remembered as a hard-working and ‘Godly’ young man.
He was a contract worker with Eco Tree Care and had only just started working on that particular removal job that week.
‘Words cannot express our sorrow for Daniel’s family, friends, and the entire Tree Care Industry,’ Mike Mol, staff development coordinator with Eco Tree Care, said in a statement Thursday.
‘He was truly a wonderful young man, his positive energy was an inspiration to everyone who met him. This tragedy has affected not only his family, friends and coworkers, but our entire community.’
According to Vanheyst’s Facebook page, he had studied Forestry and Arboriculture at Sir Sanford Fleming College. The account indicated Vanheyst having been employed by Eco Tree Care since August of 2020.
The state’s labor ministry is investigating Vanheyst’s death and the type of equipment used during the tree removal.
