An Australian TV director died in a bizarre garden accident – fatally cutting his hand with a new chainsaw while trimming the hedges at his home.
John Clabburn, 52 – who worked on such Aussie TV series like ‘Home and Away’ and ‘Underbelly’ – was clearing the tall conifer hedge in the backyard of his family’s house on Sydney’s north coast on April 6 when he cut his hand with a cordless saw he had just bought that day, his wife told the Daily Telegraph.
Clabburn fell from the ladder he was on and fell 10 feet to the ground – eventually suffering fatal cardiac arrest from the loss of blood from his severed hand.
“When I went to the backyard, he crawled on his stomach on the ground,” said Melissa, Clabburn’s wife. There was so much blood, he clutched his torso.
“I kept getting towels to stop the flow, but the blood didn’t stop.”
All he said was, ‘Call an ambulance now,’ she said.
“One minute we admired how straight the hedge looked and what a great job he had done – he was so meticulous, he had a keen eye for detail – the next moment John was in an ambulance.
“He held it together, but I know he would have been in unbelievable pain,” she said.
Several of Clabburn’s industry colleagues have used social media to honor their friend in the wake of the tragedy.
“Les Norton” actor Hunter Page-Lochard tweeted, “It was an honor to work with you … May you rule all over heaven.”
Clabburn leaves behind his wife and two sons.
