Tree trimmer charged with crushing coworker while playing shadow puppets in Apple Valley

A tree trimmer is charged with manslaughter after he was allegedly playing shadow puppets with heavy equipment and crushed his coworker’s head.

Apple Valley police say emergency crews were called to an area just off Pilot Knob Road and 132nd Street, by Farquar Lake, at around 7:10 p.m. Thursday for a medical emergency.

Callers reported that a tree trimmer suffered a severe head injury while working on a home in the neighborhood.

When they arrived, police determined the victim, identified in court documents as 26-year-old Tyler Anthony Lynch, was already dead.

A criminal complaint states that 34-year-old Christopher Boone Crimmins, of Brainerd, was operating the boom on the tree trimming truck while Lynch was cleaning up branches on the ground.

Crimmins told police, according to court records, that he and Lynch were “f—ing around” when they saw the sun casting shadows on the stree...