Accident...or?

[MDF4]

Spring 1971...Kentucky


The following is a true account
A farmer is tilling a plot of flat land preparing for planting. The tractor is upside down and disconnected from whatever he was pulling with the deceased man trapped beneath it. There are vehicle tire tracks and foot prints to the site and exiting the field. Apparently it's not all that unusual for farmers to work well into the night and when he didn't return home the next morning his wife called a neighbor to check on him. The neighbor parked at the edge of the field and seeing what happened drove to the nearest phone and called the Sherriff. Ultimately, the incident was ruled as an accident.
The question is; for those of you that understand that type of work is it reasonable for this type of accident to happen?


There is a back story to this and the man that was killed was my elder bother.

 

[30-30remchester]

Worked with heavy machinery most of my adult live. Tractor roll overs have killed many, many farmers over the decades. It takes a mere second or two before something goes from normal to fatal with machinery. I know and have worked with 4 individuals that were killed by their machinery. It has been a while since I checked the following stats so DON''T take for fact, but IIRC, oil field workers are 10 times more likely to be killed and 22 times more likely to be permanently disabled on job than police officers.

 

[mtgianni]

Full sized front end or tricycle style? Did the towed implement appear to be disconnected manually or by the rollover? What was the slope of the ground?

 

[dockmurgw]

"A farmer is tilling a plot of flat land preparing for planting."
"is it reasonable for this type of accident to happen?"

Flat land, I would say no...not reasonable.

 

[NYlakesider]

Its easy to tip over a tractor. Thats why all modern ones have ROPS AKA a tractor equipped with a rollover protective structure and the seat belt.

I have had a couple close calls and most people I know with construction equipment have their stories also. Many times it boils down to "Familiarity breeds contempt"!

 

[Bekeart]

I am SUSPICIOUS

There are vehicle tire tracks and foot prints to the site and exiting the field.

I am SUSPICIOUS.

Unless the tracks and prints were made earlier and the tractor had driven over them, whoever made the prints should have reported the incident.

Bekeart

 

[steelslaver]

I had a close friend whose brother was killed by rolling a tractor over on himself. My freind was there and there was really nothing he could do. Brother was making a sharp turn and a rear wheel dropped in a shallow ditch and over it went.

 

[IronSkillet]

Maybe a good samaritan, realized nothing could be done. Not saying it is the correct thing to do but many people have never seen death outside of a controlled environment. My thinking if someone was going the distance to make a murder look like an accident why would they leave tracks? Someone came upon this took flight, kid maybe who knows.

I am SUSPICIOUS.

Unless the tracks and prints were made earlier and the tractor had driven over them, whoever made the prints should have reported the incident.

Bekeart

 

[SMSgt]

More than one tractor has flipped over backwards. It is not beyond comprehension.

 

[Countrycuz]

A lot of factors in tractor stability, including wheel spacing, weight distribution, and sudden changes. If the rear load suddenly and dramatically increases, like hitting a large rock or stump, the tractor can flip over backwards. I don't know how a second person could intentionally cause a rollover.

 

[sigp220.45]

Say its not an accident.

How do roll a tractor over onto someone deliberately?

 

[eveled]

In my opinion @Countrycuz, is spot on.

 

[Jinglebob]

A lot of factors in tractor stability, including wheel spacing, weight distribution, and sudden changes. If the rear load suddenly and dramatically increases, like hitting a large rock or stump, the tractor can flip over backwards. I don't know how a second person could intentionally cause a rollover.

I farmed all my life and I agree with you. If you suddenly put a heavy load on the draw bar and your speed is to fast it will roll or flip the tractor even on flat level ground.

 

[tlawler]

Say its not an accident.

How do roll a tractor over onto someone deliberately?

That's the first thing I thought when I read the OP. Especially on a flat field.

 

[DWalt]

Were autopsy cause of death findings consistent with a tractor rollover?

I do not know how a second party would intentionally cause a tractor turnover.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Thanks. I'm gonna be up all night now.

 

[Yaworski]

I had a cousin killed in a tractor rollover. He was mowing and the field had been mowed a thousand times before without incident. Suddenly there was a soft spot or hole.

 

[444 Magnum]

For the last fifty years or more, tractors have had weights added to the front to balance the load and prevent back flips, etc. Not sure what type of tractor...tricycle front gear, weights, soil conditions...it could easily happen.

Heavy weight in back (plow/harrow in the ground), no front weights, throttle up, pop the clutch...very possible.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Why is this coming up 51 years after the accident . . . ?

 

[MDF4]

Why is this coming up 51 years after the accident . . . ?

Because my father went to his grave without a definitive answer.
Based on the comments and you folks that know about tractors and that they can flip over adds to whether I'll press on and get a court order to release the file.


My father made multiple trips to Kentucky but the county Sherriff would not release the file without a court order and basically said it was an accident, case closed. My father tried talking to neighbors in his area and pretty much got, "I don't know," with the exception that my brother was a good man and sad that he left behind a young wife and three little ones.


There was one comment by a local that there were issues and I suppose that was what stuck in his craw.
Thanks everyone for your comments...I do appreciate it.

 

[Buford57]

All the statements about the possibility of flipping a tractor are consistent with my experience. Towed equipment disconnected doesn't necessarily mean anything. (The equipment could have been disconnected so he could ride the tractor home and resume work in the same spot.)

I also am having a hard time visualizing how someone could flip a tractor on someone else without leaving more than footprints.

If there are any details hiding in the file I suspect that it is that someone else came to the scene first and left without rendering aid, if that was even possible. The sheriff identified, maybe interviewed that person and sees no purpose in revealing their identity 50 years later, especially in today's climate where every tragedy seems to require that some other individual is "held accountable" either criminally, civilly or by public ridicule.

 

[Buford57]

Worked with heavy machinery most of my adult live. Tractor roll overs have killed many, many farmers over the decades. It takes a mere second or two before something goes from normal to fatal with machinery. I know and have worked with 4 individuals that were killed by their machinery. It has been a while since I checked the following stats so DON''T take for fact, but IIRC, oil field workers are 10 times more likely to be killed and 22 times more likely to be permanently disabled on job than police officers.

Being retired from one of those occupations and having a brother retired from the other, I'd say you're pretty close.

 

[tops]

I had a cousin killed in a tractor rollover. He was mowing and the field had been mowed a thousand times before without incident. Suddenly there was a soft spot or hole.

Wifes uncle did the same thing with a wide front end 801 Series Ford that he had been using for 20 years.
I decided years ago that when working around machinery accidents will happen. The only question is when and how bad will it be. Larry

 

[Grayfox]

Having spent a sizable part of my life fixing tractors and such equipment, there is far too little info to go on. Need to know make ,model, size and type of tractor. Type of front end and suspension. Was the ground hard and solid or soft with holes? What was the implement? Was it unhooked on purpose or torn loose? Etc and so on. There are a ton of different details that can contribute to such an accident.
There are a 1001 ways to accidentally flip a tractor. But, honestly, it would be damned hard to do it on purpose without serious injury to yourself. And damned near impossible to commit murder that way. That whole concept is so far out in left field that you can't even see it from here.

 

[steelslaver]

What several people have referenced to and most people don't understand is that if you get a tractor in a way low gear and pop the clutch under power instead of the third member turning axles and wheels, the tractor itself turns on the axles and flips over backwards. They have huge amounts of torque.

 

[LVSteve]

Because my father went to his grave without a definitive answer.
Based on the comments and you folks that know about tractors and that they can flip over adds to whether I'll press on and get a court order to release the file.


My father made multiple trips to Kentucky but the county Sherriff would not release the file without a court order and basically said it was an accident, case closed. My father tried talking to neighbors in his area and pretty much got, "I don't know," with the exception that my brother was a good man and sad that he left behind a young wife and three little ones.


There was one comment by a local that there were issues and I suppose that was what stuck in his craw.
Thanks everyone for your comments...I do appreciate it.

Having previously been part of a family whose older uncle was the "dodgy sheriff" of a county in Iowa, I'll take a stab at how this works.

Your brother has an accident with his tractor and is killed. Some time later a car pulls into a field with a couple on board looking for a spot for some "liaison". The couple spot the overturned tractor in the field and drive up to see what's going on. They find your brother, and giving them the benefit of the doubt, I'll say they find he has passed.

Trouble is this "couple" shouldn't be. They are either married to other people, or underage, or any number of other circumstances that would outrage the locals and frighten the horses in rural Kentucky. They go to the sheriff, on the strict understanding that their names are kept out of any public discussion. However, the sheriff is in a bit of a bind because he really has to document what he knows.

So, the sheriff goes to the local judge, explains that a full reveal is just going to create unnecessary grief locally. He asks that the judge agree that the report can only be released by a local judge's order...which of course will never happen.

There you have it. Good luck getting the court order. Before possibly wasting your money, I'd suggest checking on all the family names of the local judges and law enforcement and see how many align from 1971 to today.

 

[MDF4]

Thank you everyone I appreciate your feedback.
Taking this afternoon to think about your comments it has finally dawned on me...what's the real reason in me pursuing this any further with the authorities in Kentucky? I've come to the conclusion to let it rest. According to my mother, he just about drove himself crazy for about a year after my brother died, and me, being very much like my father, does not want to go down that road. My brother would not want me to subject the family to any further grief. I know where is at and someday we will meet again.


Thanks everyone, I really appreciate you taking the time.

 

[Bekeart]

Just like a WHEELIE on my Honda ...

What several people have referenced to and most people don't understand is that if you get a tractor in a way low gear and pop the clutch under power instead of the third member turning axles and wheels, the tractor itself turns on the axles and flips over backwards. They have huge amounts of torque.

Just like a WHEELIE on my Honda ...

Bekeart

 

[Muss Muggins]

I've got five bucks and a draft beer that says the records have been destroyed. . .

https://www.klc.org/UserFiles/LocalGovernmentGeneralRecordsRetentionSchedule.pdf

Thank you everyone I appreciate your feedback.
Taking this afternoon to think about your comments it has finally dawned on me...what's the real reason in me pursuing this any further with the authorities in Kentucky? I've come to the conclusion to let it rest. According to my mother, he just about drove himself crazy for about a year after my brother died, and me, being very much like my father, does not want to go down that road. My brother would not want me to subject the family to any further grief. I know where is at and someday we will meet again.


Thanks everyone, I really appreciate you taking the time.

 

[steelslaver]

Just like a WHEELIE on my Honda ...

Bekeart

Exactly only tractor tires have a huge amount of mass, compounded by the fact that tractor wheels are heavy on purpose the tires are generally filled with chloride for added traction weight.