I have appreciated this thread. I’m not a woodworker but was a friend of Fr. Jimmy’s, and they called me when the news came out, both to let me know and to ask if I wanted to know the details. I did not at first, but I’m glad I did learn about what happened.
He was working w/ a piece of equipment - later I learned it was a wood lathe - something lodged and the blade flew out and hit him in the skull. Death is thought to have come immediately for him. However, head wounds being what they are, the staff who found him in the morning are clearly traumatized.
Jimmy was a safety conscious individual in his shop, and had shown me around it. He often talked about the safety features, including auto-stop on various equipment. News had come out that morning about a local priest we both knew who was murdered and then his remains burned, who was together with a long time associate and caregiver at the same time who suffered the same fate. It’s likely he was thinking about that horror story.
But evidently the blade came loose and caused a traumatic head injury. I can ask for more details if it would be helpful for others in ongoing safety concerns.
