Marshall County Man Dies in Farming Accident

[ScoutmasterRick]

From the Accident Data Center:

Bennie Poole, 65, killed after tractor rolls on top of him near Horton, AL
Date:
Monday, September 15, 2014
Man dies in farm tractor accident

"He's in a particular part of his pasture. It's on the backside of a dam with a pond and it's uneven," Chief Eric Speight said in describing the incident. "As he's trying to bush-hog it, the tractor tips over and rolls completely over on top of him."

A couple of pictures of the tractor were published in other new sources, but they don't reveal much about the cause of the accident:

 

[HEC]

What a shame as accidents can happen so fast , we need to be ever so careful on these tractors and use good common sense .

 

[rd_macgregor]

The pictures are kind of confusing. Because there is a pile of dirt behind the LR tire, I am assuming the tractor rolled all the way over, still running, and dug a hole while sitting next to the fence and pushing on a tree...but that's the best reconstruction version I can come up with from those pics.

 

[CobyRupert]

The pictures are kind of confusing. Because there is a pile of dirt behind the LR tire, I am assuming the tractor rolled all the way over, still running, and dug a hole while sitting next to the fence and pushing on a tree...but that's the best reconstruction version I can come up with from those pics.

Yes, pictures never reflect how steep the landscape really is. Only the second picture that shows the ground hiding half the rear tire gives a clue that there must be a bank there. It's also likely the tractor was moved during the recovery process.

 

[Mike_Kanzer]

A ROP/seat belt would have probably saved his life.

 

[ScoutmasterRick]

Here is an article from The Gadsden Times that has a little more info.

Marshall man dies in tractor accident
Times Staff Report
Published: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 at 5:13 p.m.

A Marshall County man died Monday when his tractor flipped over on him at his property on Douglas Hyatt Road, Douglas Police Chief Eric Speight said.

Bennie Poole, 65, was pronounced dead at the scene, Speight said, after the midday accident.

The chief said Poole was bushhogging in his pasture and attempting to bushhog the backside of the dam behind his pond. The area is very uneven, Speight said, and the tractor flipped all the way over onto Poole, then rolled back over onto its wheels and kept going.

Speight said there was no one in the pasture with Poole, but a neighbor across the road could hear the bushhog and realized that something didn稚 sound right. He went to check on it and found Poole.

 

[MossRoad]

Yikes. Tractor rolled over, killed the fellow, then righted itself and drove off. Probably stuck against a tree or something, that's why the dirt is behind the tires. Keep his family in your thoughts and be careful every day.

 

[rd_macgregor]

You can see the trunk of the tree that stopped the tractor in one of the pictures. This is pretty close to what I deduced; I always shudder when I see older tractors without ROPs, especially when they are used on uneven/sloping ground. If I ever roll my tractor, I may get banged and bruised, but I'm not likely to get crushed.

 

[FatTire]

A ROP/seat belt would have probably saved his life.

Yep. Just realized I've gotten lax about putting on my seat belt when making short moves on flat ground.

 

[MossRoad]

Yep. Just realized I've gotten lax about putting on my seat belt when making short moves on flat ground.

Yep. Anytime I catch myself not wearing it I stop and put it on. Doesn't happen too often, but once in a while.