A man using a rented lift to help his son remove trees on December 13, 2020, in Clermont County, Ohio, died when the top of a tree fell onto the lift platform.
Responding Felicity-Franklin Fire/EMS personnel found George Shelton, Jr., attempting to retract the lift that his father was in.
George Steven Shelton, Sr., 67, of Felicity, Ohio, had been operating the Genie manlift, cutting sections from the trees and allowing them to drop to the ground. While he was approximately 50 feet off the ground, a cut trunk section approximately 10 feet in length fell, landing on Shelton in the lift.
Fire department personnel were unable to get the lift to retract down far enough to remove Shelton from the bucket. The Bethel-Tate Fire Department responded with a tower truck and safely removed Shelton from the lift.
Despite efforts by emergency responders, the elder Shelton was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a report in The Highland County Press.
