Falling Branch Catapults Tree Trimmer Into the Air

A 300-pound branch fell off a tree being trimmed Thursday, hurling the man trying to lower it on a rope into a lamppost, a sign, a nearby house and finally into the tree itself, authorities said.

The man, believed to be in his 30s and about half the size of the huge branch, was found by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics sprawled on the ground amid smaller branches in the 5300 block of Winnetka Avenue at 4:30 p.m., said Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells.

Working with a second man who was cutting branches off the tree in front of a private home, the man was lowering the severed branches to the ground, using a rope looped over a high limb, Wells said.

As the cutter sawed through a heavy branch, the man tied the rope around his waist to gain more control because of its weight, Wells said.

When the heavy branch came loose and fell to the ground, it catapulted the man into the air, Wells said.

“The force of gravity swung him all over,” Wells said. “But it could have been worse. He could have been killed.”

At the end of the wild ride, he was left hanging by the rope in the tree until his co-worker cut him down, Wells said.

The man was in good condition with a head gash at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Woodland Hills, Wells said.