Tree trimmer dies after getting stuck in 50-foot palm tree

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) – A tree trimmer who was rescued from a 50-foot palm tree in Phoenix died from his injuries.

Police say 43-year-old Jaime Yepiz died after being taken to the hospital.

Phoenix firefighters responded to the area of 67th Avenue and Thomas Road for reports of a tree trimmer stuck in a palm tree Friday.

Yepiz was reportedly found around the trunk of the tree, but he was stuck among a bunch of palm tree fronds. Officials believe he was knocked unconscious by parts of the tree.

Rescuers had to use a chainsaw to free Yepiz after he spent about an hour trapped under the palm tree’s skirt.

But by the time he was out, Yepiz was unresponsive and rushed to the hospital.

Richard Chard, a neighbor of the home that Yepiz was working for, said he witnessed the chaotic scene.

“All hell broke loose,” he said.

Chard watched three men work on the palm tree for a while before the accident and says that in the nearly 50 years he’s lived here, the 50-foot palm tree in his neighbor’s backyard had never been pruned.

Dead fronds went all the way down the trunk, also creating a significant fire hazard.

“I was waiting for that thing to go ‘poof’ like a roman candle,” he said.

Sadly, Chard said he knew there was something seriously wrong when firefighters pulled the tree trimmer out.

“When they got him on the gurney it didn’t look good,” Chard said. “He wasn’t moving at all.”

Experts say homeowners should trim palm trees at least once a year. It’s cheaper, safer, and more aesthetically pleasing.

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