John O’Neill Colorado tree worker loses both legs in freak wood-chipper accident, with the problem drinker blaming a court ordered ankle monitor for causing the accident as it remains unclear if worker safety standards were being followed.
A Colorado tree worker in a ‘freak accident’ lost both his legs within the first minutes of the first day on the job. Only quick thinking saved the worker from losing his life as a wood chipper machine slowly made its way.
John O’Neill, 33, with a history of ‘problem drinking’ was fitted with a court-ordered ankle monitor, was throwing tree branches into a wood chipper machine when one the branches clipped the tracking device, only to drag him into the chipper.
O’Neill, who had battled addiction and is now sober and was excited about his new job, had both legs amputated above his knee following the accident which happened on Sept. 24, just on 10:18 a.m, the Denver Post reported.
‘It took a minute before my coworkers realized what was happening,’
Only 15 minutes into the workday in Longmont, O’Neill grabbed a fish hook-shaped branch and threw it into the machine.
The end of the branch caught onto O’Neil’s ankle monitor and dragged his leg into the spinning blades where it began cutting into his toes, foot, ankle and legs.
As a consequence of fellow coworkers wearing ear protection on the job, no one immediately heard O’Neill’s desperate cries for help.
‘It took a minute before my coworkers realized what was happening,’ O’Neill told the outlet.
As the machine continued to ‘eat into him’, O’Neill feared imminent death was only moments away.
‘Something happened in my brain to where I realized I was in fear for a lot more than just losing my leg or my foot,’ O’Neill told the outlet.
‘The pain was very — it was not there almost,’ he recalled. ‘I didn’t really feel the pain as much as I knew I was in trouble. It went from a fight for my limb to a fight for my life, very fast.’
O’Neill who hails from Broomfield, described the unfolding episode as ‘something that looked like what you see in movies,’ as he saw skin, bones, muscle and a lot of blood coming out of his legs.
O’Neill said remained as calm as possible to keep his heart rate down.
‘I didn’t freak out, I did stay calm,’ O’Neill said. ‘My coworker said I was very cognitive throughout the whole thing.’
A coworker pulled him out as the blade reached his mid-thighs and O’Neill grabbed a nearby rope for a makeshift tourniquet.
He faded in and out of consciousness but credits his coworkers for keeping him alive using sternum rubs.
Tree worker cites the design of ankle bracelet
Police arrived at the scene and secured actual tourniquets on the remainder of O’Neill’s legs before he was rushed to a local hospital where he was flown to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, just outside of Denver.
During the helicopter ride, O’Neill ‘technically died,’ with his heart having stopped beating.
O’Neill criticized the design of his ankle tag, which he said had prevented him from breaking free and saving his legs.
Doctors amputated the remainder of O’Neill’s mangled legs and needed to give him 15 pints of blood.
‘They essentially replaced all the blood in my body,’ the worker said.
News of the incident led to O’Neill’s mother going into shock and having to be hospitalized for three days, according to the Denver Post.
Among the many people and organizations O’Neill has reconnected with during his hospitalization is ‘the Phoniex,’ the non-profit that creates ‘sober events and activities‘ to help those battling addiction.
John O’Neill said he plans to get prosthetics and continue volunteering and advocating.
Wood-chipper accidents and work fatalities
With the non-profit, O’Neill looks to continue his volunteer work where he will lead rock climbing and CrossFit events with the help of adaptive specialists.
‘This is uncharted territory and I can’t wait to dive into it because I feel like life is going to be more exciting. I’ve always enjoyed a challenge,’ he said.
‘It’s beyond a miracle that John is still with us, and he’s fighting harder than ever,’ O’Neill’s friend George Safir wrote on GoFundMe. ‘Our friend has always been pretty reckless and living life on the edge! All while doing so, being a warrior in life.’
O’Neill is ‘crushing his recovery faster than anyone,’ Safir said. ‘John has very high spirits and is ready to get back to some rock climbing.’
Not immediately clear is whether worker safety standards were met on the day of the accident.
Workers are killed every year by wood-chipper machines, with 113 wood-chipper-related deaths between 1982 and 2016, according to a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine in 2018.
Most people killed in woodchipper accidents died after being struck by wood being spun by the machines, while 41 died after being accidentally pulled into the machines themselves.
O’Neill did not reveal the name of the company or whether he intends to sue.