A tree-trimming worker in Apple Valley, Minnesota, has died after a colleague allegedly used a hydraulic grapple machine to mimic grabbing his head as a joke, only for the device to actually close around it. Christopher Boone Crimmins, 34, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter over the death of 26-year-old Tyler Anthony Lynch, in a case that highlights the dangers of misusing heavy machinery on the job even in jest.

Crimmins told police he and Lynch had been "fooling around" and were watching shadows cast by the grapple and Lynch's head on the ground when he manoeuvred the machine to appear as though it was grabbing Lynch, not realising it had actually closed on him. A witness reported seeing the grapple "hit or pinch" Lynch, and police arriving at the scene found him with severe head injuries; he was pronounced dead there. Authorities say Crimmins showed "culpable negligence" and created "unreasonable risk"; he faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted and is due back in court on 10 September in Hastings, Minnesota, while workplace safety regulators investigate.