Crime & Safety

UPDATED: Man Killed In Tree Trimming Accident

The man died under 20 feet of dry palm fronds , LA County Fire reports.

UPDATED, June 10, 12:53 p.m.: Officials at the LA County Coroner's Office have identified the tree trimmer as Roberto Garcia, 35, of Glendora.

Officials have still not yet determined what exactly killed the worker who was trimming a 50-foot palm tree, although Glendora Police said a large section of dead palm fronds may have fallen and wedged Garcia between the tree and his climbing equipment.

UPDATED, June 10, 12:05 a.m.: The man killed during an accident while tree trimming was reportedly a Glendora resident, according to Lieutenant Jamie Caldwell in a San Gabriel Valley Tribune article. The man may also have been suffocated when palm fronds fell and lodged between him and the tree.

Find out what's happening in Glendorawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

UPDATE, 8:35 p.m.: It is still undetermined how a tree trimmer met a terrible death 50 feet up in a palm tree in Glendora, Saturday afternoon.

The 35-year-old tree trimmer reportedly succumbed while firefighters were trying to reach him, said John Lenihan, battalion chief with Los Angeles County Fire.

"This palm tree is away from the street, so our ladder access is challenged. We were able to put one of our aerial apparatus into the yard close enough to get to the tree," Lenihan said.

The firefighters could not see the man upon arrival and had to use thermal imaging devices to locate a heat source. About 20 feet of the 50-foot tree was dry, dead palm fronds.

The man's coworkers called LA County Fire, stating the man was asking for help and that he was having trouble breathing.

Cal/OSHA and the LA County Corner's Office are on scene to investigate exactly what happened, which was not known to officials at the time of publication.

"It looks like he might have been pinned between the palm frond and the tree," said Sergeant Matt Williams of

Find out what's happening in Glendorawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

PREVIOUSLY: A man was killed during a tree trimming accident in Glendora Saturday afternoon, LA County Fire is reporting.

The accident occurred around 4:50 p.m. behind 231 W. Bennett Ave.

A man, part of a five-person tree trimming crew, was trimming a palm tree when somehow, the man was killed under the thick dead vegetation of the tree, an LA County Fire official said.

By the time response units found the man, the victim was already dead.

There is no information yet on the identity of the victim.

Glendora Police will begin a press conference to discuss the incident later today.

This story will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.