He Turned a Hydraulic Claw’s Shadow Into a Joke on a Sunlit Street. The Real Claw Crushed His Coworker’s Skull Seconds Later.
On the evening of August 20, 2026, two tree trimmers were finishing a job on a residential street in Apple Valley, Minnesota, when a low sun threw long shadows across the pavement. Christopher Boone Crimmins, 34, of Brainerd, was seated atop the truck’s boom, operating a hydraulic grapple claw. Tyler Anthony Lynch, 26, of Royalton, was on the ground below him, gathering cut branches.
According to the criminal complaint, the two were “f—ing around” when Crimmins noticed the sunlight casting shadows of the grapple and of Lynch’s body onto the street. He moved the claw so its shadow would appear to reach out and grab Lynch’s shadow. He was not watching the actual grapple, and he was not watching Lynch. The real machine moved toward Lynch’s head. Crimmins closed it.
Lynch was pronounced dead at the scene. Crimmins was charged the following day with second-degree manslaughter. He has not been convicted of any crime. Everything below that is drawn from the criminal complaint is an allegation, not a proven fact.
- 7:10 p.m.Aug. 20, 2026Apple Valley police found Lynch already dead near Pilot Knob Road and 132nd Street West, by Farquar Lake
- 1 count2nd-degree manslaughterculpable negligence creating an unreasonable risk — the sole charge filed against Crimmins as of publication
- 10 yrs / $20,000maximum penaltyif convicted, per the Dakota County Attorney's Office
- $40,000bail setwithout conditions ($20,000 with conditions); Crimmins is held at the Dakota County Jail
The crew was working near Pilot Knob Road and 132nd Street West, along Farquar Lake in Apple Valley — a Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb roughly 20 miles south of downtown. Crimmins was the only member of the crew licensed to operate the truck’s boom, according to KSTP’s review of the charges, which showed him alone in the elevated seat controlling a claw-like hydraulic grapple used to lift and load cut limbs. Lynch worked the ground crew, clearing branches as they fell.
As the sun dropped low over the street, both men noticed the shadows the equipment was throwing across the pavement — the grapple’s claw-shaped silhouette, and Lynch’s own shape moving beneath it. Investigators say the two began entertaining themselves with the effect: Crimmins maneuvering the multi-ton hydraulic arm so its shadow appeared to close in on Lynch’s shadow, a joke playing out high above the street with a piece of heavy machinery capable of crushing a log.
The complaint, as reported by Fox News, KSTP, and CBS News Minnesota, states that while Crimmins was tracking the shadow game, he stopped monitoring the actual position of the grapple and stopped monitoring Lynch. The claw itself — not its shadow — had drifted toward Lynch’s head. Crimmins then closed it. A witness at the scene told investigators the grapple appeared to “hit or pinch” Lynch’s head, according to Law & Crime’s review of the charging documents.
Apple Valley police, responding to a call reporting a severely injured man, arrived at approximately 7:10 p.m. and found Lynch on the ground with a large amount of blood around his body and a significant head injury. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators documented blood on the grapple itself, positioned directly above where Lynch had been working.
Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena’s office charged Crimmins on Aug. 21 with one count of second-degree manslaughter — a Minnesota felony defined as causing a death through culpable negligence that creates an unreasonable risk of death or serious harm. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Dakota County District Judge Adam Johnson set bail at $40,000 without conditions or $20,000 with conditions; as of publication, Crimmins remained held at the Dakota County Jail. His next scheduled court appearance is Sept. 10, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. in Hastings.
Per standard protocol for a workplace fatality involving heavy equipment, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has also opened an investigation into Lynch’s death, according to police statements reported by multiple outlets. OSHA inspections in fatality cases typically examine training records, equipment maintenance, and whether the employer’s safety program met federal standards; results were not available as of publication. Crimmins has not entered a plea in the public record reviewed for this story and is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
Victim: Tyler Anthony Lynch, 26, of Royalton, Minnesota. Pronounced dead at the scene on Aug. 20, 2026.
Charged: Christopher Boone Crimmins, 34, of Brainerd, Minnesota. One count of second-degree manslaughter. Held at the Dakota County Jail on $40,000 bail. Presumed innocent.
Location: Near Pilot Knob Road and 132nd Street West, Apple Valley, Dakota County.
Next hearing: Sept. 10, 2026, Dakota County District Court.
Lynch’s death is a single case, but it sits inside a much larger, largely invisible occupational-safety record. Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Tree Care Industry Magazine puts the fatal-injury rate for tree trimmers and pruners at roughly 110 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers— about 30 times the all-industry average of 3.4 to 3.8 per 100,000. BLS estimates the U.S. has around 63,700 tree trimmers and pruners, a workforce the trade press argues is likely undercounted given how many crews work for small, unlicensed outfits.
OSHA fatality data compiled by the trade publication shows 243 tree-care-related fatal occupational injuries nationwide from 2020 through 2023 — an average of roughly 61 deaths a year. The leading causes: being struck by falling limbs or equipment (about 43% of deaths, roughly half involving a falling tree), falls from height or from an aerial lift (about 33%), and electrical contact with power lines (about 14%). Lynch’s death does not fit neatly into any of those three categories — it is closer to a fourth, less-tracked hazard: a licensed operator’s attention diverted from a machine built to crush wood.
Tyler Lynch went to work on a Thursday evening to clear branches on a quiet suburban street and did not come home. The equipment that killed him was not malfunctioning; it did exactly what it was built to do, aimed at the wrong target by a coworker who was looking at a shadow instead of the machine itself. A moment of horseplay — the kind that happens on job sites every day without consequence — ended with one worker facing a felony and another worker’s family facing a funeral.
The criminal case against Crimmins moves forward Sept. 10 in Dakota County District Court. The OSHA investigation into the crew’s training and equipment protocols remains open. We will update this page as both proceed.
