Tumble from antique tractor kills man at State Fair

[IMCA38]

Tumble from antique tractor kills man at State Fair

By ZACH PLUHACEK / Lincoln Journal Star

A Kansas man who took part in a record-setting antique tractor parade at the Nebraska State Fair on Saturday died Sunday morning when his tractor rolled on top of him in a parking lot on the fairgrounds.

Charley DeWeese, 75, of Thayer, Kan., was loading his 1936 John deere tractor onto a flatbed trailer when its right tire slipped from the ramp and DeWeese fell, State Patrol Lt. Dennis Leonard said. The tractor flipped on top of DeWeese, pinning and killing him.

The incident happened at about 10:30 a.m. at the back of an overflow lot being used as a staging area for people involved in Saturday's tractor parade.

Several people, including DeWeese's wife, were in the area and saw the tractor land on him, Leonard said.

However, he said, most fairgoers probably were unaware of the incident because it happened out of view from the core area of the fairgrounds.

"I've been very much involved with the law enforcement duties with the State Fair ... and this is the first incident of this magnitude or anywhere near that," since the fair moved to Grand Island from Lincoln in 2010, Leonard said.

A total of 964 tractors were counted in Saturday's tractor event, billed as the World's Largest Parade of Classic Tractors, which broke a Guinness World Record, according to the State Fair. More than 1,100 riders had registered.

[IMCA38]

One would certainly have to wonder if he was trying to load a narrow front tractor with ramps, and that's where he encountered problems.

[chad22]

One would certainly have to wonder if he was trying to load a narrow front tractor with ramps, and that's where he encountered problems.

That's what I wonder too. Sad.

My condolences.

Chad

[kebo]

One would certainly have to wonder if he was trying to load a narrow front tractor with ramps, and that's where he encountered problems.

I fail to understand why a tractor with a narrow front end would be any different than trying to load one with a wide front end?? I will give you that the narrow front end will be lighter, all other things being equal. Both types of front ends will still require ramps.

Either way, I can see why this happened though. Today I visited a tractor shown and I noticed that a LOT of the old tractors there were hauled in on large GN trailers, usually the deckover design which puts the deck higher off the ground than a trailer that is not deckover. With a deckover, it obviously requires longer, and generally steeper ramps. That might be a factor in some of these types of accidents.