A 21-year-old tree surgeon and father has been left paralyzed after a falling tree branch crushed his neck in a devastating workplace accident.
Evan Parker was working on a tree in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on Friday when a dead limb suddenly snapped and struck him in the head, family members said.
The branch, which weighed about 25 pounds and fell roughly 60 feet, broke Parker’s neck and severely damaged his spine.
Doctors have told the family he is currently paralyzed from the neck down.
Parker had been wearing a safety helmet at the time of the accident, which relatives believe likely saved his life.
The young arborist, who loved climbing trees for work, now faces a long road to recovery as loved ones struggle to come to terms with the life-changing injuries.
Parker is the father of a one-year-old son named June, whom relatives describe as the center of his world.
His father, Laren Parker, said the family is struggling with the uncertainty of what lies ahead.
Evan Parker, 21, was left paralyzed after a dead tree limb fell about 60 feet and struck him while he was working in Lawrenceville
Parker suffered a broken neck and severe spinal injuries and is now paralyzed from the neck down
Parker is the father of a one-year-old son named June
‘I’m scared,’ he told 11alive. ‘Scared for him. I’m scared for his mom. I’m scared for the whole family.’
Despite the severity of his injuries, Parker has tried to keep his spirits up in the hospital, according to his mother, Kesha Guzman.
‘Even through all of this, when he is awake, he’s trying to keep us calm,’ Guzman told 11alive. ‘He’s trying to keep us happy and laughing and that’s Evan.’
Relatives said Parker had always dreamed of working as a tree climber and took pride in the physically demanding job.
His cousin Kasey Jackson said he had been doing exactly what he loved when the accident happened.
‘Climbing trees is exactly where he wanted to be,’ Jackson told Atlanta News First. ‘He loved his job and loved climbing trees.’
Friends and coworkers described Parker as a hardworking young man devoted to providing for his family.
Parker with his girlfriend and their one-year-old
Relatives said Parker had always dreamed of working as a tree climber and took pride in the physically demanding job
Dakota Roberts, who owns Southern Roots Tree Service and Grading and occasionally worked with Parker, said the accident came as a shock.
‘I still don’t know what to say about it,’ Roberts told Atlanta First News. ‘I was just in shock and disbelief.’
Roberts said tree work carries unavoidable risks despite safety precautions.
‘We do everything we can to make it as safe as possible,’ he said. ‘But there are things that can go unnoticed, and somebody has to deal with the worst possible outcome.’
He said the accident has forced him to rethink his own career in tree work.
‘Truthfully, it makes me want to quit doing tree work,’ Roberts said. ‘But I don’t really have another answer to a career currently.’
Roberts has pledged to donate between five and ten percent of his company’s sales to Parker’s family and said he intends to support them for the long term.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover Parker’s medical expenses and the specialized equipment he is expected to need.
After doctors removed his ventilator, his father said Parker’s first words reflected his drive to return to normal life.
'He took the ventilator out and that's the first thing he said, "I'm ready to go work again, I'm ready to climb,"' his father said. 'And I said, "Boy, you're crazy," but hey, if he wants to climb, you let him climb, but we're going to climb to recovery.”
