US / accidental death Tree Trimmer Suffocated by Palm Fronds He got trapped, firefighters pulled him out 2 hours later By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff Posted Dec 23, 2014 6:48 PM CST Copied A surfer stands under a palm tree as she watches the waves at Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, May 31, 2014. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) A tree trimmer in North Las Vegas died yesterday after getting trapped in a palm tree, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The fire department was called to the scene around 4:30pm; the man was having trouble breathing. Authorities found him unconscious and trapped in the fronds, and he later died. His body was removed about two hours later. The Las Vegas Sun notes that tree trimmers are warned about the dangers of being suffocated in collapsing palm fronds, as in this video; the fronds can collapse over trimmers' heads and pin them to the trees. (More accidental death stories.) Report an error