Upstate NY Company Cited For Worker’s Wood Chipper Death

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Federal officials say an Albany-area tree service company faces more than $140,000 in fines because it hadn't properly trained a worker who was killed in a wood chipper accident on his first day on the job.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says Countryside Tree Service's failure to provide training was a factor in 23-year-old Justus Booze's death on May 4 after a wood chipper pulled him into the machinery as he worked at a job site in suburban Guilderland.

OSHA says the company's owner, Tony Watson, exposed Booze and other employees to the danger of being caught in the machine's rotating parts by not training them in the safe operation of wood chippers.

The agency also cited the company for several other safety violations.

A woman answering the company's phone Monday said Watson wasn't available for comment.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]