Neighbor Rolled His Ford 4000 Yesterday

[flusher]

My 77 year old neighbor was coming down his very steep driveway yesterday. When he was at a section where the driveway is about 5' above grade, on top of pit run shale (about a 45 degree angle of repose) a front wheel went over the side.

Soon both wheels on the left side were over the side of the driveway, and the tractor rolled over and down the 5' embankment.

Very fortunately the loader was up at its maximum height, and he had an 8' or 10' hay rake on the 3 point. As far as I could see, the combination of these two things prevented the tractor from going any further than just laying over on its left side. Of course he was thrown out of the seat and banged up considerably. I think he is incredibly lucky not to have been crushed.

I was coming home from town when I got a call from his son that they needed my tractor right away. I got there about 15 minutes after the accident.

Using both his JD4410 and my 110 TLB, we dragged the Ford about 5' from the embankment. Then I lifted the bucket of the Ford with my loader, while he pulled the right rear wheel from the opposite side of the driveway with a chain. In a few minutes, we had it upright.

We let it sit for a few minutes, checked the engine oil, and bled the injectors. It would crank over, but not start, so his son sprayed WD-40 into the air intake while he cranked and in a minute or so it was running.

Two minutes later he said he was going to go rake the hayfield, and off he went.

All I could do was stand in slack-jawed amazement as he drove the tractor away. That is one tough old bird.

Anyway, this morning he was sore, but spent all day running (and fixing) a hay baler.

Your neighbor is one tough old bird (and lucky too).

My 84 year old neighbor was using his big wheel loader (one of those articulated beasts with a jumbo diesel in the rear, a big bucket in front and a 5-6 rung ladder to get up to the cab).

The engine stalled. So he used a stick to depress the gas pedal, climbed halfway down the ladder, stepped onto the top of the rear tire, squatted down and jumpered the start solenoid. Well the engine started OK, but the tranny was in gear, so he found himself log rolling on that tire for a few seconds before he fell off, hit his midsection on the top of the tire and fell backwards, fortunately away from the loader, which was moving toward his shop at a pretty fast clip.

Fortunately the left front wheel hit a dirt pile which caused the loader to start moving clockwise in a circle, saving his shop from destruction. It flattened one of his walk-behind tillers before his SIL could climb the ladder and shut it down.

Two or three paramedic ambulance and a medevac helicopter arrived, the chopper flying low over my place and landing in the road. The chopper hauled him to the med center in Chico.

No broke bones, no internal injuries except a small tear in a vein in his thigh that was fixed orthoscopically. Released from the hospital after 4 days, a few weeks rest and assistance from a physical therapist.

He's back in business like nothing happened. One lucky puppy.