A Northern California tree trimmer has been decapitated after an industrial wood chipper apparently sucked up a rope tangled around his neck.
Nevada County sheriff's deputies initially said 50-year-old Martin Lara was feeding brush and was pulled head-first into the wood chipper by the rope.
But coroner's Sgt. Paul Schmidt tells Sacramento's KCRA-TV that something got caught in the wood chipper and got tangled around Lara's neck, decapitating him.
Schmidt couldn't confirm it was a rope that tightened around his neck.
The tree trimming crew says they heard Lara scream at about 8:15 a.m. Thursday while they worked in Nevada City. He was dead when they went to investigate.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
