36°
Isiah Bedocs, a 17-year-old from Coplay, was working for Adam's Tree Service in North Whitehall Township on Aug. 9 when he was fatally wounded, Daily Voice reported.
Now, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company for 10 "serious" safety violations and is recommending fines totaling $124,987, the agency announced Monday, Feb. 13.
Investigators found that Bedocs was feeding "entangled material" into the wood chipper when he was partially pulled in. OSHA regulators say that he and other minors were allowed by company owner Adam Atiyeh in violation of federal child labor laws.
Officials also say the company did not train workers to safely use the chipper, and that they did not keep first-aid-trained personnel on-site to handle medical emergencies.
Personal protective equipment and portable fire extinguishers were also lacking at the company's worksites, OSHA said.
“The dangers of tree-trimming and operating a woodchipper are obvious and widely known, and yet this employer exposed a teenager to deadly risks. Now his family, friends and co-workers are left to mourn,” wrote Allentown OSHA Area Office Director Jean Kulp.
"The willingness of this company and its owner Adam Atiyeh to expose workers without proper safety equipment and training to such hazardous work is hard to understand. Employing minors to do this work is unconscionable."
The federal Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division will continue to investigate the child labor allegations, OSHA added.
Adam's Tree Service, which is based in Schnecksville, has 15 days to comply with regulators, according to the release.
Isiah Bedocs was an incoming senior at Whitehall High School and "had his whole life ahead of him," reads a GoFundMe launched by loved ones.
"He was a happy teenager who went to work and sadly didn’t come home after a tragic accident," they wrote.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Allentown and receive free news updates.
