Firefighters used Pennington and Montgomery trucks to reach the injured worker, who was 75 feet up in a tree
By Ruth Luse, Managing Editor
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — A Camden man employed by a Cookstown tree service was injured Tuesday while on the job on Crusher Road in Hopewell Township.
At 9:55 a.m. Tuesday, Hopewell Fire Department and Emergency Medical Unit, along with Hopewell Valley Emergency Services and Hopewell Township police, went to Crusher Road — near the intersection of Princeton Avenue (Carter Road) in Hopewell Township — to investigate a report about a tree trimmer, who “had fallen and was impaled on a branch high up in a tree,” according to Hopewell Township police Chief George Meyer.
Upon arrival, police immediately determined the tree trimmer had not fallen and was not impaled.
He was, however, injured and still approximately 75 feet up in the tree.
Police later learned Jose Chavez-Chojan, 29, of Camden, and an employee of J&R Tree Service, Cookstown, was working with another individual cutting down trees for a homeowner, the chief said.
Mr. Chavez-Chojan was high in the tree, cutting large branches, which then were lowered by rope to the ground.
”As he cut one branch, it swung and struck him hard in the chest. He was injured by the force of the blow and experiencing difficulty breathing. He was tied into the tree with a safety harness and did not fall, but was unable to climb down on his own,” the chief reported.
Chief Matthew Martin, of Hopewell Valley Emergency Services, who was in charge of the rescue operation, requested aerial trucks from Pennington and Montgomery fire companies.
He also requested the Mercer County High Angle Rescue team, a group of specially trained firefighters equipped for such rescues. Members of the team responded to the scene with apparatus from Princeton, Plainsboro, Ewing and Lawrence townships.
Firefighters had difficulty getting apparatus close enough to the tree to reach Mr. Chavez-Chojan due to soft ground and power lines, the chief said.
Eventually, large mats were brought in to support the weight of the Pennington Fire Company’s 100-foot ladder truck, and power lines were shut down by Public Service Electric & Gas Company.
Firefighters used both the Pennington Fire Company truck and a Montgomery Fire Company truck to reach the injured worker. He was loaded into the Montgomery truck and brought to the ground at approximately 11:40 a.m., the chief said.
Mr. Chavez-Chojan was treated and transported by the Hopewell Emergency Medical Unit to Capital Health System, Fuld Campus, and was treated by Capital Health System paramedics en route.
He suffered chest injuries, potentially some rib fractures, the chief added.
Police closed both Princeton Avenue and Crusher Road during the rescue operation.