Abstract

A 79-year-old farmer (the victim) was killed while driving his tractor. He had been a full-time farmer who lived alone and farmed on the 136-acre land nearly all of his life; the main commodity was beef cattle. As was his usual practice, he was working alone on the day of the incident. Every evening he had dinner with his two sisters who lived in a house on the same property about 50 yards from his home. When he did not show up for the evening meal, they went out to look for him. They found that he had taken the tractor out on the property, most likely to check the fence line. Tire tracks through the grass showed that he had been driving the tractor along a ridge when, for an unknown reason, the tractor went off the path and down the slope to the left into a grassy meadow area. The tractor continued down the incline about 300 feet then turned uphill about 30 feet before coming to a stop. Upon arriving at the scene they found the tractor remained in fifth gear with the ignition on, but the engine had cut off. The victim was found lying on the ground in front of the tractor's right rear wheel; his right bootlace was caught around the brake pedal. His injuries and the condition of his clothes suggest that he was thrown to the right side of the tractor and had been dragged although not runover. The victim was not wearing a seatbelt. Rescue squads were called and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. In order to prevent similar incidents from occurring, FACE recommends:

  • Wear a seatbelt when operating a tractor
  • Avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing when working near machinery

Document Type

Report

Release Date

6-18-1996

Incident Number

96KY037

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