Authorities Thursday identified a 49-year-old professional tree trimmer who died when a large palm tree fell on him in a residential neighborhood in Rancho San Diego.
Bernardo Teran of San Diego was fatally injured in the 1500 block of Falda del Cerro Court, near Valhalla High School, around 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. He was pronounced dead at the scene about 20 minutes later.
At the time of the accident, Teran, his sons and two employees of Teran’s tree trimming company were working on removing a date palm tree from the yard of a home.
“After one of the employees cut the base of the tree, it became unstable and suddenly collapsed on top of (Teran), who became partially pinned under the tree,” a ME’s Office statement said. “(Teran’s) sons and employees were able to remove him from under the tree, and one of his sons called 911.”
The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health will investigate, San Diego County sheriff’s Lt. Dave Schaller said.
— City News Service