A Minnesota tree-trimming worker is facing a manslaughter charge after authorities say he fatally crushed a coworker’s head with a hydraulic grapple while the two were allegedly fooling around during a job.
The deadly incident occurred Thursday in Apple Valley, where 34-year-old Christopher Boone Crimmins was operating equipment mounted on the back of a truck as 26-year-old Tyler Anthony Lynch cleared branches from the ground, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dakota County.
Police responding to the scene found Lynch on the ground with severe head trauma and “a significant amount of blood around him,” the complaint states.
Dakota County officials said Lynch was pronounced dead at the scene.
Christopher Crimmins is accused of recklessly operating a boom in the incident that allegedly killed his coworker. (Dakota County Jail )
Investigators said Crimmins had been controlling a boom — a movable mechanical arm attached to the truck — when he and Lynch began playing with the shadows cast on the street.
“He and the Victim were ‘f—ing around’ and saw that the sunlight was casting shadows of both the grapple and of the Victim on the street,” the criminal complaint said.
As they watched the shadows, Crimmins allegedly moved the grapple so its shadow appeared to grab Lynch’s shadow, authorities said.
However, he did not realize that the grapple itself was moving toward Lynch’s head.
An employee operates a grapple to remove a tree from a residential property. A Minnesota tree-trimming worker was charged with second-degree manslaughter after allegedly crushing a coworker’s head with a hydraulic grapple while the two were horsing around with their shadows on the job. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
“Crimmins was not monitoring the actual grapple or Lynch. He then opened and closed the grapple, crushing Lynch’s head,” the Dakota County Attorney’s Office said.
A witness also saw the incident unfold and said the grapple appeared to “hit or pinch” Lynch’s head as it approached him.
Officers observed blood on the grapple, which was directly above Lynch, according to the complaint.
Authorities alleged Crimmins was responsible for the incident through negligence, saying he created an “unreasonable risk” and “consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another.”
A hydraulic grapple grips a large tree branch during a tree-trimming job. (Matthias Rietschel/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Crimmins has been charged with one felony count of second-degree manslaughter. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
Officials said Crimmins was being held at the Dakota County Jail. Bail was set at $40,000 without conditions or $20,000 with conditions.
