A landscaper sustained life-threatening injuries and lost a portion of his leg while he was trapped in a wood chipper in a South Yarmouth yard Friday morning, police said.

Authorities received a call around 9:49 a.m. reporting a man, who has not been identified, was stuck and seriously injured in the machinery at a home on Highbank Road, Yarmouth police said in a statement.

Officers and firefighters found a young man “bleeding profusely and being treated by fellow landscaping company employees” when they arrived, officials said.

Police said a tourniquet was applied before the man was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, where he was undergoing treatment after 11 a.m.


“Our hopes and prayers are with the injured young man and all those involved with saving his life,” police said.

First responders had initially requested a MedFlight helicopter to the scene, but it was unable to fly as rain fell across the region Friday morning.

Officials said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified as detectives investigate.