LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Southern California man who was accidentally yanked into a wood chipper while clearing trees was killed after suffering major traumatic injuries, authorities said on Wednesday.

Martimiano Morales Carreon, 49, was using his foot to push a pile of tree branches into the commercial wood chipper on Tuesday when his leg became entangled and he was pulled in, the San Diego County Sheriff’s spokesman said.

Though Carreon’s son was able to shut down the machine and pull him out, he suffered major trauma to his lower extremities and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, the spokesman said.

Carreon and his son had been working to clear trees next to an avocado grove in Rainbow, California, near Temecula.

The incident was being investigated by the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.