Man killed by snapped branch in freak tree-pruning accident
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT. A 46-year-old man has died in a freak accident north of Perth after the branch of a tree he was pruning broke and crushed him.
It was the result of a good deed that ended in tragedy when the man offered to help prune a friend's tree.
Just after 2pm on Wednesday it all went horribly wrong on the Carabooda property.
Police say the man was four metres high when a large secondary branch, which had rotted, snapped.
The branch swung around and crushed him against the main trunk of the tree.
The horrific accident unfolded in front of the man's mate, with police saying there was nothing anyone could have done to save him.
"All scenes like this are horrific for emergency services, that's why we get the training and the counselling after to deal with that, so our guys will be offered counselling," WA Police Sgt Chris Wride said.
Neither of the men were professional tree loppers.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
