A man fell into a wood chipper and was killed Monday in Davie in an accident people at the scene called "horrifying."
A worker landscaping all day near Southwest 57th Street and Pine Island Drive in Davie fell into the teeth of his wood chipper.
On Tuesday, Davie Police identified the man as 42-year-old Hernan Gutierrez of Hallandale Beach (photo below).
Gutierrez's whole body was pulled in through the wood chipper, and the aftermath took a toll on residents and law enforcement.
“I didn’t know what to do, and then a few minutes later, I hear all these sirens,” resident Joseph Horta told NBC 6's Jamie Guirola. “It was a little bit horrifying.”
“This isn’t something you see every day,” said Davie Police Captain Dale Engle. “It’s not something you can just go home and forget about.”
The man was dead when rescue workers arrived, and Davie Police had to delicately clean the scene and collect the victim's remains.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Captain Engle said. “This is a gruesome scene.”
One of the workers with the victim said he knew Gutierrez but declined to talk about the accident.
Police believe the man's death was the result of a work accident. OSHA was also brought to the scene of the accident and promised more information later.
According to OSHA, from 2000 to 2013, there were 11 wood chipper deaths in the United States, none of them in the state of Florida.
“I think it’s sad, very sad,” said resident Linda Simmons. “Guys were working really hard trying to make a living, and he just made a mistake, I guess.”
