Colorado Man Survives Losing Both Legs in Freak Wood Chipper Accident During First Day on the Job: 'My Coworkers Kept Me Alive'

Mar. 15, 2025

John O’Neill.Photo:gofundme

gofundme

One Colorado man lost both legs in a freak accident on his first day of work on Monday, Sept. 23, according toThe Denver PostandTimes Call.

John O’Neill, 33, said he “technically died” after he suffered an accident while working on a wood chipper in Longmont, Colo.

At 10:18 a.m., 15 minutes into his first day of work, O’Neill placed a fish-hook-shaped branch into the machine, perThe Denver Post.The chipper blades flipped the branch’s hook around, which caught in O’Neill’s court-ordered ankle monitor and dragged him into the wood chipper.

“I didn’t really feel the pain as much as I knew I was in trouble," O’Neill recalled toThe Denver Post. “It went from a fight for my limb to a fight for my life, very fast.”

He told the outlet that “it took a minute before [his] coworkers realized what was happening” due to the ear protection they were wearing. By the time they realized what was happening and could pull him out, the blades hit his mid-thigh.

“I looked down and saw something that looked like what you see in movies,” O’Neill toldThe Denver Post, detailing how he saw his own skin, bone, arteries and muscle tissue. Additionally, he and his coworkers made a makeshift tourniquet with rope to reduce the amount of blood he lost.

John O’Neill.gofundme

The next day, on Sept. 24, he woke up in a hospital bed and was administered more blood after having already received 15 pints. He said medical professionals “essentially replaced all the blood in [his] body.”

“I was in an excruciating amount of pain,” O’Neill added. “I felt my legs were broken. It took me a minute to realize and remember what had just happened.” And then he looked down to his bed and saw his legs were gone.

He then called his mother, Barbara O’Neill, who lives in New Jersey. Barbara was “sent into such a panic” when she learned of the accident that she had to be admitted to the hospital for three days, the outlet reported.

John intends to receive prosthetics. “This is uncharted territory and I can’t wait to dive into it because I feel like life is going to be more exciting. I’ve always enjoyed a challenge.”

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John has not publicly identified the company he was working for. However, he criticized the ankle monitor’s design, noting that if he had not had it on, he would’ve been able to get free.

Additionally, aGoFundMepage has been created to help raise money for John’s unexpected  “medical bills, new legs, a wheelchair, medical expenses, lawyers, etc.” As of publication, it has raised $26,000 of its $30,000 goal.

source: people.com