Mason Scott Cox, 19, dies after falling into wood chipper on first day of work in Gastonia, North Carolina

ABC-7 reports owner Jon Crawford hit the kill switch and put the machine in reverse, but it was too late. According to North Carolina reports, Cox had just started working for Crawford’s Tree and Stump Grinding Service on Saturday. The business owner and other workers were also there and noticed the machine getting bogged down. All Cox’s colleagues started running around in shock and Crawford suffered a heart attack at the scene. Police ruled the incident as accidental, and no foul play is suspected.

GASTONIA, N.C. –- A teenager was killed over the weekend after he was pulled into a wood chipper on his first day working at a tree removal business. I just started screaming,” she said. “It’s kind of like it’s not real yet – or it’s just too amazing to be real.” She said when his cousin, who worked at the tree removal business, said someone had called off Saturday, Cox begged him to take him along. But Cox had been pulled into the machine and was killed instantly. Neighbors, unaware of what was unfolding, said they at first thought the group had been stung by a swarm of bees.