OSHA Investigating Fatal Bethel Park Tree Trimming Accident

BETHEL PARK, Pa.,None — Channel 11 News learned that OSHA is investigating the death of a 30-year-old Washington County man on a tree-trimming job site Tuesday.

Eric Arnold was killed when the limb he cut at a Bethel Park home touched a power line.

Once the tree hit the line, police said it and Arnold were charged. The tree acted as a conductor since it had retained so much water.

Arnold worked for County Boyz Tree Service, which is owned by his uncle, Rick Kaposy.

"I loved that kid. I brought him into my home and gave him a place to live," Kaposy said.

At the scene, near the intersection of Robert Drive and Route 88, Arnold's brothers blamed Kaposy for his death.

"Rick went up and cut the limbs close to the house, the easy ones. Then he had the inexperienced climber, which is my little brother who has only been doing it a few months, go up and cut the ones he left and said 'You cut the ones by the power lines,'" said Arnold's half-brother Shawn Dennis.

"Soon as it happened I called him and told him my brother was on the line frying and on fire. He said 'What do you expect me to do it was an accident?' He went home instead. He didn't come back here. That's why I call him a coward," said Arnold's brother, Larry.

Kaposy denies those accusations.

"I did not leave the job site. We were going to dump the truck and cut a fallen tree over a lady's driveway and we were coming back to the job site," he said. "If I didn't think Eric could have handled that job he wouldn't have been up that side either. I thought he was capable of performing the job. He's done me a good job and I'm going to miss him," Kaposy said.

Police said Arnold was electrocuted. Crews arrived a short time later and cut power, allowing rescuers to get his body down from the tree.

Kaposy said he is unaware of any investigation, but Channel 11 learned OSHA is collecting information since it was a fatality on a work site. OSHA said there is a 6th month statue of limitations to file charges if any safety and health standards were violated.

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