MN Man Faces Manslaughter Charge in Fatal Tree-Trimming Incident

Apple Valley, MN (MinnesotaNow) - A Minnesota man is facing a manslaughter charge in connection with a deadly tree-trimming incident on Thursday.

Coworker charged in fatal Apple Valley incident

A criminal complaint filed in Dakota County Court charges 34-year-old Christopher Boone Crimmins of Brainerd with 2nd-degree manslaughter for allegedly causing the death of a coworker at a worksite in Apple Valley. His conditional bail is set at $20,000.

Victim pronounced dead at the scene

The criminal complaint details a horrific incident that resulted in the death of 26-year-old Tyler Lynch. The court document says Apple Valley police responded to the scene and found the victim on the ground with significant trauma to his head and a significant amount of blood around him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

David Lentz

Charges Detail Horrific Circumstances

The charging document states that Crimmins and the victim were employed by a tree-trimming service and Crimmins was operating the hydraulic boom and grapple on the back of a tree-trimming truck while Lynch was on the ground cleaning up branches. According to the criminal complaint, Crimmins told Apple Valley police that when he observed sunlight casting shadows of both the grapple and the victim on the street, he maneuvered the grapple to "make it appear as though the shadow of the hydraulic grapple was grabbing the shadow of the victim."

Crimmins criminal complaint-Dakota County court

Man faces 2nd-degree manslaughter charge

The court document says Crimmins indicated he was not looking at the victim or the grapple and did not see the grapple moving toward the victim's head. He then closed the grapple, and the victim's head was crushed.