Philip Pohle, 32, survived an internal decapitation after a tree branch pinned his neck during cleanup work.
LOGAN, Ohio — An Ohio park maintenance worker is walking again after surviving a rare internal decapitation in a March 13 work accident at Hocking Hills State Park, where a tree branch forced his skull away from his spine.
Philip Pohle, 32, was clearing fallen trees from a roadway when the accident happened, according to reports and a fundraiser organized for his family. Doctors later diagnosed him with atlanto-occipital dislocation, an injury often called internal decapitation because the skull separates from the spine inside the body. The injury placed Pohle near death and left doctors unsure whether he would survive, walk or avoid paralysis.
Pohle was operating a front loader while removing downed trees at the park, a well-known hiking area in Hocking County in southeastern Ohio. His foot became stuck on the machine’s gas pedal as a large branch pressed into his neck. Pohle later said he heard “a pop or a crack” as the pressure forced his head upward. Trapped in the machine, he said his thoughts went to his two young children. “It was really nice being a dad,” Pohle said as he described fearing that he would not see them again.
State natural resource officers reached Pohle as the branch remained against his neck. The limb was estimated at 6 to 8 inches wide. Officers stabilized his neck with a brace while other crews used a chainsaw to cut away the tree and free him from the loader. An ambulance was about 20 minutes away, and bad weather kept a medical helicopter from flying, according to the reports. Emergency crews later moved him from the scene and began the trip toward hospital care.
Pohle was first taken to Hocking Valley Hospital, then transferred to Grant Medical Center in Columbus. There, neurosurgeon Dr. Victor Awuor and other medical staff worked to secure the base of his skull to his spine with plates, screws and rods. Awuor said many patients with that kind of injury die at the scene, and many who reach a hospital face paralysis. Other medical reports described the injury as a severe cervical trauma in which even a small movement could have caused death or full paralysis.
The accident happened while Pohle was doing maintenance work for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources at Hocking Hills State Park. A fundraiser organized by Brittany Berry on behalf of Haley Davidson, Pohle’s girlfriend, says Pohle had worked for ODNR for two years and enjoyed the job. Berry wrote that Pohle and Davidson share two small children and that the family faces medical bills, rent and child care costs while he recovers. The fundraiser listed nearly $20,000 raised toward a $30,000 goal as of Saturday.
No criminal charges or enforcement action have been reported in the case. Public reports did not list a separate state workplace review, and ODNR had not been reported as releasing a detailed accident report. The next steps center on Pohle’s medical recovery, follow-up care and whether he can return to work. Doctors have called his progress extraordinary because he was walking without help less than a month after the accident, though the fundraiser said he still faces a long recovery.
The rescue also drew attention because of how much depended on the first minutes after the injury. EMS reporting said body camera video showed responders finding Pohle pinned in the machine with the limb pressing into his neck. The trauma kit and neck brace used by natural resource officers helped keep his neck from moving while crews cut away the tree. Pohle has said he likely would have died if he had been working alone that day.
Pohle has framed his survival around his family and the responders who reached him. He said the accident changed how he thinks about ordinary time with loved ones. His message after the injury was brief: “Tomorrow is not guaranteed.” For now, he is recovering after surgery, walking without assistance and hoping to return to the work he enjoyed.
Author note: Last updated May 2, 2026.