Marijuana grower killed by own booby trap after nearly decapitating himself with piano wire strung up to protect illegal plants

50-year-old was riding quad bike when he hit thin wire



Police say leg trap and barbed wire were also found around plot

A man died after nearly decapitating himself after driving into piano wire he had strung up around his marijuana plants as a booby trap.



Daniel Ricketts had been driving a quad bike on his rural Upstate New York property in Saw Mill Road, Berne, when he hit the thin wire on Saturday afternoon.

The barely visible wire, similar to that used in pianos, had been used as some form of protection for the four large plants.



Booby trap: Daniel Ricketts died after hitting a piano wire put up around marijuana plants

Fatal: As well as piano wire, a leg trap and barbed wire had been put around the plants

Other devices, including barbed wire and a leg trap similar to those used to catch coyotes, were also found around the marijuana, according to Fox News .

The 50-year-old man was thrown from his Honda Foreman quad bike after hitting the wire, which police say had been set up to protect the plants.



Albany County Coroner Paul Marra pronounced him dead at the scene and Sheriff Craig Apple told News 10 ABC alcohol may have been a contributing factor.

The rural hills in Albany county are often used to secretly grow drugs, Sheriff Apple said.



'They go up there and they'll grow marijuana on a lot of the state lands. Fortunately hikers, people out and about, neighbors will call us and they'll tell us,' he said.



September is when harvesting normally takes place, leading to a rise in the number of tip offs, the sheriff told CBS 6 .

The marijuana plants were removed from the property on Saturday, and an investigation was started but there have been no arrests.



Rural: The accident happened on a Berne, Upstate New York property on Saturday afternoon



