Colorado Guy Lost Both Legs in a Wood Chipper Accident 15 Minutes Into His First Day at His New Work

A Colorado guy lost both of his legs in a strange accident with a wood chipper on the first day of his new job.

John O’Neill, 33, was flinging tree branches into a machine in Longmont when a branch fashioned like a fish hook became entangled with his court-ordered ankle monitor and dragged him inside. The blades sliced his toes, foot, ankle, and legs. He was 15 minutes into his shift at 10:18 a.m. on September 24.

“Something happened in my brain that made me realize I was afraid of losing much more than just my leg or foot,” O’Neill told The Denver Post.

He then grasped the edge of the wood chipper, attempting to cling on. Because of their protective ear protection, his coworkers did not hear his calls for aid right away.

“It took a minute before my coworkers realized what was happening,” O’Neill told the site. “The agony was severe—it was nearly non-existent…I didn’t feel the agony, but I knew I was in trouble. It quickly escalated from a fight for my arm to a fight for my life.

When his coworkers finally got him out, the blade had reached his mid-thigh area. Police arrived at the job site and sent him to a nearby hospital. He was then airlifted to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado.

On his way to the hospital, he “technically died,” according to the publication.

“My heart stopped…””They replaced all of the blood in my body,” stated O’Neill.

His legs were eventually severed above the knees. O’Neill didn’t know what had happened until he awoke in his hospital bed the next day.

His family has rushed to his side. When his mother learned what had happened, she became so panicked that physicians admitted her to the hospital for three days.

O’Neill refused to identify his employer or say whether he intended to take legal action against the corporation. He hopes to obtain prostheses and devote more time to helping. He hopes that his new platform will allow him to campaign for causes close to his heart, such as drug and alcohol addiction recovery.

A GoFundMe campaign put up to aid O’Neill achieve his future objectives has raised more than $27,000 of the $30,000 goal.

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