Minnesota tree trimmer charged in coworker’s death after on-the-job horseplay turns deadly

foxnews.com ^ | August 23, 2026 | Bonny Chu

[V_TWIN]

A tree-trimming employee has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly crushing his coworker’s head with a hydraulic grapple while the pair were reportedly "f—ing around" on the job, according to Minnesota authorities.

Responding to reports of an incident, police discovered Lynch lying on the ground with "a significant amount of blood around him and significant trauma to his head," the complaint said.

Lynch was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the county.

Authorities said Crimmins was operating a boom, a movable mechanical arm attached to a truck, when he and Lynch began messing around with their shadows.

"He and the Victim were ‘f—ing around’ and saw that the sunlight was casting shadows of both the grapple and of the Victim on the street," the criminal complaint said.

While looking at the shadows, Crimmins allegedly maneuvered the grapple so that its shadow appeared to grab Lynch’s shadow.

However, he did not realize that the grapple itself was moving toward Lynch’s head.

"Crimmins was not monitoring the actual grapple or Lynch. He then opened and closed the grapple, crushing Lynch’s head," the Dakota County Attorney's Office said.

A witness also saw the incident unfold and said the grapple appeared to "hit or pinch" Lynch’s head as it approached him.

[OldHarbor]

Do it light, taking me through the night
Shadow dancing, baby you do it right, uh-huh
Give me more, drag me across the floor
Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more

The Hydraulic Grapple, Useful Tool or Deadly Menace ?

[Deaf Smith]

>>Shake hands with danger

—————————

Worked two years in metal fabrication shop.

A large pre-crusher came in and another worker was told to remove and rebuild the two hydrolic cylinders to the 5K lbs vertical door. The door was stuck in up in the open position.

That worker got me to see a problem he was having…the hydrolics were removed and the door was up.

*What’s holding door up?

Me: Friction from gunk & rust.

He had been walking and standing under that steel door.

I got the forklift over to hold the door and welded 5 inch channel iron to each side of the door’s slot guide… floor to touching the bottom of the door.

[TalBlack]

Reminds me of the EMT who, on his first day on the job, put the paddles on a fellow EMTs chest and hit the trigger. She died on the spot.

[FamiliarFace]

Not where I live! They are skilled workers around here. I’ve never seen any tree workers here not take their jobs (and their tools) seriously. Many times, their lives depend on getting their work exactly right.

[T.B. Yoits]

Reminds me of the EMT who, on his first day on the job, put the paddles on a fellow EMTs chest and hit the trigger. She died on the spot.

I don't know about that story. A defibrillator won't send a current if it detects a heartbeat.

[ClaytonForester]

Yeah, that short makes me cringe. At least the RiffTrax version lightens things up a little.

[Dan in Wichita]

These two guys may end up as contestants for the Darwin Award.

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

Unlike when a mother murders her child, you have a death here from two people that cared about each other and the state needs to fit justice with understanding and value.

[wafflehouse]

this guys story isnt believable

[V_TWIN]

“A witness also saw the incident unfold and said the grapple appeared to “hit or pinch” Lynch’s head as it approached him.”

[patriotpaul1776]

ouch

[Mean Daddy]

Co-worker didn’t shut off a circuit and decided to work live on a commercial light. He was in the process of being electrocuted while on the ladder but a co-worker saw it and kicked the ladder out from under him. He was given a choice on being fired or going around the company telling his story of what he did wrong. He chose the story route.

[subterfuge]

Many people die in their own homes carrying cake knifes and such through their houses. My mother-in-law is really careless (bless her God-fearing heart at 89 years old) about when carrying a huge cake knife from the kitchen to the dining room and tell her about it all the time.

And people frequently load knifes into dishwashers with the blades UP, only to trip on the open door of the dishwasher and stabbing themselves to death. I’m kind of a safety nut so I call out people who do this type of thing- especially in my own house.

[TalBlack]

It was maybe five years ago. The story was discussed on FreeRepublic .