Man dies in tree-cutting incident
By Melody Brown-Peyton
Published in News on August 8, 2018 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Wayne County EMS and firefighters with the Arrington and Dudley fire departments respond to a call to remove the body of a man who was killed while working to cut down a tree in the backyard of 1253 Emmaus Church Road Tuesday afternoon.
The removal of trees turned deadly for a Warsaw man on Tuesday.
Emergency personnel responded to a call just after 11:30 a.m. of a man pinned while trimming trees.
Jose Ruiz, 49, of 111 Short St. in Warsaw, was helping Freddie Gomez with trimming down trees at the home of Joaqina Gonzarez at 1253 Emmaus Church Road in Dudley, said Capt. Shawn Harris, with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
Ruiz went up a ladder to begin cutting trees when he slipped and fell, Harris said. A large tree branch broke and trapped Ruiz, who was pinned by the branch for 10 minutes until emergency personnel arrived.
Once on the scene, it took firefighters 30 minutes to free Ruiz, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Family and friends gathered at the home in disbelief and overcome with grief of the sudden loss.