A 48‑year‑old California tree trimmer, who had spent 20 years removing branches, lost his life in a freak accident when he fell 35 ft and was impaled on an iron fence.
Family members say the worker—Rogelio Cruz—left his job on Canoga Avenue and Valerio Street in Canoga Park in the mid‑afternoon. NBC Los Angeles reported that the LA Fire Department had the agency on the scene. According to his relatives, Cruz’s rope slipped while he was trimming a palm tree, sending him tumbling to the ground.
“What was all normal—go up, do the job, cut it down, come back down, go home—wasn’t that day,” Cruz’s cousin Richard Areloa told reporters. “Everyday routine — goes up, does the job, cuts it down, comes back down, goes home, and it just wasn’t like that today,” he added.
Cruz had just turned 48 in September and had run his own family‑owned tree‑care company for two decades. Two of his brothers were on the job site when the tragedy happened. “I don’t know how one can process what happened,” Areloa said. “Here we are, all still trying to cope with everything.”
On‑scene helicopters captured the grim aftermath, still showing Cruz’s body on the fence covered by a white sheet. Passersby were shielded from the graphic view by a yellow tarp stretched between power poles. He was pronounced dead shortly after 3:20 p.m.
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