Stanford, Kentucky lost it’s second Mayor in 5.5 years, last Tuesday when Mayor Scottie Ernst lost control of a heavy zero-radius mower, which careened forward, straight down a 4/5 foot embankment nose-first into a dry creek bed, then fell/flipped on top of him. The weight caused a fracture of the breast bone, which undoubtedly reduced his strength to crawl from under it. He was found maybe 15/30 minutes later.
He died of asphyxiation according to the autopsy.
The kicker: the roll bar was fastened in the “down” or “short” position: had it been at it’s full height of 5 or 6 feet, the mower would have likely created a triangle when it flipped, leaving him plenty of room.
He was an old farm boy, who knew the general safety rules that have cost hundreds/thousands of farm deaths, but that might have created a false sense of confidence.
The lesson: if your machinery has a safety device ENGAGE IT ALL THE DAMN TIME.
Zero-radius mowers should be banned. Those little “dolly” wheels on the front can get you in trouble, quickly, on anything but flat ground.
I had almost the exact same accident, into a ditch, with a much lighter Dixon mower in 1987: it did not flip, though, as it came to a rest/crash nose down, and I extended my legs to come to a standing position with the mower on it’s nose behind me. It was a very fast event, that can not be controlled by the use of the levers.
He died of asphyxiation according to the autopsy.
The kicker: the roll bar was fastened in the “down” or “short” position: had it been at it’s full height of 5 or 6 feet, the mower would have likely created a triangle when it flipped, leaving him plenty of room.
He was an old farm boy, who knew the general safety rules that have cost hundreds/thousands of farm deaths, but that might have created a false sense of confidence.
The lesson: if your machinery has a safety device ENGAGE IT ALL THE DAMN TIME.
Zero-radius mowers should be banned. Those little “dolly” wheels on the front can get you in trouble, quickly, on anything but flat ground.
I had almost the exact same accident, into a ditch, with a much lighter Dixon mower in 1987: it did not flip, though, as it came to a rest/crash nose down, and I extended my legs to come to a standing position with the mower on it’s nose behind me. It was a very fast event, that can not be controlled by the use of the levers.
