So Sad....Why Oh Why?????

[Ridgeman]

This article was in a local paper today...
A 5-year-old boy was killed Monday in a tractor accident in
Greenup County.
According to the Greenup County Sheriff's Department, the boy was
riding on a tractor being operated by his grandfather.
He was clearing land at the time, using a device known as a Bush Hog, a rotary
brush cutter and field mower, the sheriff's department said.
The youngster fell off the back of the tractor and was run over by the Bush Hog,
which was being pulled by the tractor, according to the sheriff's department.
It was not immediately known what caused the child to fall from the tractor.
The boy was pronounced dead at the scene by Greenup County Coroner.
No autopsy was performed

People, PLEASE DO NOT RIDE others on a tractor with you especially kids.
Such a sad thing happened that should never have happened!

 

[deerefan]

this hits home---i used to sit on my grandfather's leg while he cut with his farmall with the belly mower when i was about 2 or 3 yrs old....never gave it much thought until now

 

[RoyJackson]

The really grim part is that child would be pieces after run over by a rotary cutter.
There was a post a while back that was linked to a story of how a father ran over a child with a cutter....grim, to say the least.

 

[Deerlope]

If the machine has one seat then that is all that is supposed to be on it, one person.PERIOD.

 

[Ridgeman]

You know, when I saw this story and posted this thread, I knew it was a sad, grim story.
But, if it stops just one person from doing this, it will be worth while!
Hopefully, it will stop anyone who reads or hears about this tragedy from ever doing the same thing.
I really feel for that grandpa who probably thought he was giving his grandson a great time "riding on the tractor with grandpa".

Not trying to rattle on and on about this, guess I'm just trying to work out my own feelings here.

 

[Jstpssng]

Years ago my parents came back from an evening MC ride with a tale about 2 kids RIDING ON A BUSH HOG while the father was mowing.
Scary.

 

[Junkman]

A couple of years ago when another one of these type accidents happened, I made a post to the effect that children don't belong on lawn mowers and tractors with parent or grandparent. At that time a lot of people were on me like flies in the barn and said that they saw nothing wrong with giving the kids a ride, their parents did it, and so will they. Either we have a whole new set of people responding to these threads or mindsets have been changed.
I posted to a thread today about pulling a heavily loaded trailer with a BX1500 and advised against it, with the reasons why. So far, two others have encouraged the person to do so, and say that they do it all the time. When I was young and foolish, I did a lot of things that were not safe, and lived to tell about them. I also know of some friends that were not so lucky. We all take risks, but I will never tell someone else to do something that is dangerous, even if I might consider doing it myself. I am responsible for my own mistakes, but I wouldn't want it on my conscience knowing that I encouraged someone else to do something foolish and dangerous. The other thread.... You might not agree with me, however, I have always preferred to err on the side of safety. Like so many choices in life, it is up to the individual to decide if the risk is worth the consequences. I guess that is why the Darwin Awards are given out each year. Darwin Awards Web Page

 

[PBinWA]

My neighbor is always out mowing his field with his two step kids (7 and 4) riding with him. This is on an old Ford 8N/9N type tractor with an brush hog that is just as old. The seat is half rusted away and there is no safety add-ons to this thing.

I keep expecting one of them to fall off and get shredded.

Can't see a diplomtic way to approach him on this so I just leave it up to the PONS (Process Of Natural Selection) theory.

 

[caylor]

Too bad the PONS will probably select one of the children rather than the operator who should know better... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I ran into this recently with my neighbors grandkids who rode frequently with their grandfather while hogging.

The kids were running around (like they are supposed to do, I love country living) and I saw them coming from a far while I was on my tractor doing some hogging. When they came close, I shut the tractor off and talked with them for a while.

Naturally, they asked if they could ride with me while I made my next pass. I took that opportunity to inform them why I would not do so. I essentially scared the @#$% out of them on what the cutter would do to them if they fell off or if they got too close to the PTO while running.

Anyway, to shorten the story, they went and asked their grandpa if his cutter would do the same thing to them as mine would, and he said yes. Since then, I have never seen those kids on the tractor with him again. Incidently, my neighbor came over the next day and thanked me for talking to his grandsons about the dangers of the tractor, he like all of us had just wanted to do with his grandkids, what his grandpa did with him, and had never really thought of what could happen if something went wrong.

 

[HGM]

Its an increadibly sad story, unfortunatly things like this happen all the time... As sad as it is, I would rather be in the childs shoes than the grandfathers.. He'll have to live with it forever, if he can handle it... Surely he thought he was doing something good for the child. Its a shame....