CLEVELAND, Ohio – A Cleveland Department of Urban Forestry worker died in an incident that occurred Wednesday afternoon in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, according to the city’s Twitter account and worker representative.
The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Superior Avenue, according to Colin Sikon, a field representative for Cleveland Laborer’s Local 860. Cleveland EMS confirmed that the worker died at the scene.
Cleveland Police Spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia did not respond to an email requesting additional information about the incident.
First responders have cordoned off part of the Romanian cultural garden next to a large fallen tree with yellow police tape. The city has not confirmed whether the tree contributed to the employee’s death.
City workers at the crime scene declined to speak to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
Sikon said the union will help investigate the incident, which is being carried out by the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation’s public employment risk reduction program.
“Local 860 would like to express our deepest condolences to the family (of the worker) who died at work today,” he said. The employee’s identity has not been released.
