Abstract: At approximately 12:44 p.m. on August 2, 2001, Employee #1 was working with a crew of seven employees removing a willow tree that had grown onto private property. The employees were working for the Cheektowaga Town Highway Department. The tree was very mature with about five different trunks. The tree branches and limbs had been removed and chipped in the morning. All that remained of the tree was a 12-ft standing log approximately 28-in. in diameter. A coworker, a certified tree trimmer was cutting down the last trunk. The trunk grew out from the base of a stump left from a tree that was cut many years ago. The angle that the tree had grown was very pronounced and there was no question as to where it would fall. The trunk was trimmed to approximately 10-ft high and was approximately 2-ft in diameter. The tree trimmer was using a 20-in. chain saw to cut the 28-in. diameter tree. The tree trimmer made the first cut from the left side (east side) then moved to the other side to make the last cut to drop the trunk. When the tree trimmer started the actual felling of the tree, he checked to make sure everybody was clear and checked again before beginning the second cut. Employee #1 was picking up debris around the area, when the 10 ft section of the tree fell upon him. The far end of the tree landed upon a cut log which reportedly enabled Employee #1 to crawl out from under the tree truck. Three other coworkers were standing approximately thirty feet to the east of the tree and one of them saw Employee #1 just as the tree fell. One of the tree employees yelled a warning but it was too late, the tree appeared to strike Employee #1 across his back as he tried to get away. The Coworkers did not speculate on why Employee #1 had made his way into the path of the tree. They stated that he had worked on the crew for many years and was experienced in wood cutting operations both on and off the job. One coworker, the high lift operator was west of the tree, in the cab of his tractor. Employee #1 was last seen behind the tree trimmer (to the west) near the high-lift when the tree trimmer started his second cut. The high-lift operator said that he saw Employee #1 walking around the area, apparently picking up small limbs and branches while the tree was being cut. The medical examiner reported that Employee #1 died of multiple internal injuries and that his blood alcohol concentration was 0.25 percent at the time of his death. However the coworkers at the work-site did not report any intoxicated behavior and Employee #1's personal file does not contain any documentation of habitual alcohol abuse. Upon later inspection the equipment used on the site included a dump truck #53, a front end loader and a bucket truck and all were found to have been functioning properly at the time of the accident. The weather that day did not indicate precipitation. According to later discussion with the employer, this particular job was some what different than most because most tree work is done on streets and right-of-ways. When the tree trimmer is cutting limbs and felling trees, the laborers assume duties of directing traffic and providing assistance. This accident occurred in a park and traffic control was not an issue, thus, laborers were not assigned specific responsibilities during the tree falling process. The tree crew members have had some undocumented training provided by equipment representatives. The employer leaves it up to the tree trimmer to instruct his crew of work-site procedures and policies. Employees working at the site were cognizant of general safety rules, and signals used at the work site. Employee #1 was killed when he entered area where the tree was being felled.