PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend 2.jpg

An arborist injured Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, in a wood chipper accident in Leaburg was taken to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield. Rescuers say the man's helmet likely saved his life.

(Creative Commons)

LEABURG -- A man is expected to survive being pulled head-first into a wood chipper thanks to his helmet and his foot catching a safety bar.

The Register-Guard reports the unidentified arborist is in his 20s and was taken to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield. Friday afternoon with trauma to the back of his head and a broken leg.

Officials say the man was wearing a harness rope that became entangled in the wood going into the chipper. He was pulled into the chipper, with his foot catching the safety bar that turns off the machine just as his head came up against the chipper blades.

Firefighter Matt Brooks says the man's helmet likely assisted in his survival.

-- The Associated Press