Man stuck in tree in Porter gets leg amputated

PORTER, TX (KTRK) -- A man is in critical condition after his leg was pinned by a tree branch that he was trying to cut down.

The man, in his 40's, was hired to cut down a residential tree in the 24000 block of Butterfly Lane on Tuesday.

"I hear a branch break," said neighbor Eric Brocken. "I hear the man screaming."

Brocken said he ran towards the home and saw a man hanging upside-down in a tree three stories above ground. Broken said he grabbed a ladder nearby and along with the man's co-worker, tried to keep the man from falling.

"I grabbed him. Reached down there in the pit of your stomach and get that strength and let's do this," said Brocken.

Brocken said the man said he just wanted to fall. His leg was severely crushed.

"We were trying to grab the rope to make it come fall this way and it ended up going back to him," explained co-worker Steve Solis.

Firefighters used a ladder truck to get to that man. They had to sever the man's leg at the knee to free him. He was transported to a hospital in downtown Houston by helicopter. He is listed in critical condition.