The family of a 22-year-old worker who died after being “sucked” into a wood chipper at a New Jersey cemetery is suing the machine’s manufacturer, claiming the equipment was dangerously defective.
According to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office, the victim, Eonias Mateo-Perez, was found dead on July 10, 2024, after police responded to a 911 call at Saint Magdalen Cemetery in Flemington. Officials said Mateo-Perez died from injuries sustained while operating tree-chipping equipment, adding that the preliminary investigation suggested an accidental death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was also conducting an investigation.
On Oct. 21, Mateo-Perez’s estate filed a complaint with the Superior Court of New Jersey against Michigan-based Bandit Industries, asserting strict liability. The filing claims that Mateo-Perez, an employee of William LaRue Services, was operating the wood chipper and feeding trees into it when he was pulled into the machine and killed.
The lawsuit alleges that Bandit Industries’ wood chipper was defectively designed and lacked essential safety features. The complaint contends the equipment failed to include adequate warnings, safety mechanisms to prevent users from being drawn in, or a proper automatic shut-off system. It further argues that the company did not adopt safer, reasonable alternative designs that could have prevented the fatal accident.
As a result of Bandit Industries’ alleged negligence, the complaint says, Mateo-Perez suffered fatal injuries and economic losses. The estate is seeking a jury trial.
According to his obituary, Mateo-Perez was born in Guatemala and lived in Flemington. His attorney, Bruce Nagel, described him as a “hard-working young man” who was “feeding brush into the wood chipper when he was sucked into the machine and brutally killed.”
