Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program |
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Farmer Crushed Against Tractor Tire by Gravity Flow Wagon Box while Unhitching |
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SummaryA 23-year-old, part-time farmer from northeast Iowa was fatally injured while working alone on his farmstead late in the spring of 2005. He had towed a gravity-flow wagon filled with 150 bushels (5.3 m3) of shelled corn behind his 70 Hp (52 kw) row-crop tractor to the top of a slight knoll in the gravel driveway between the house and machine storage shed. A cement block (silo stave) was placed in front of the right rear wheel of the wagon to block it from rolling forward when the wagon was unhooked from the tractor. Returning to the hitch area, the farmer pulled the hitch pin to disconnect the wagon from the tractor. The wagon moved forward crushing him against the tractor's left rear wheel. The farmer was found by his brother, who had come to meet him at the farm. The brother immediately telephoned for emergency assistance. First responders found the tractor with its engine still running, its transmission in neutral, and its brake set. The left front corner of the fully loaded gravity-flow box pressed against the farmer's chest, pinning him with his back against the tread of the left rear tire of the tractor (Photo 1). The wagon was pulled back about 8-feet from the tractor to free the victim. Resuscitation efforts at the scene were unsuccessful.
RECOMMENDATIONS
IntroductionThe victim worked three days each week at an off-the-farm job less than an hour from where he and wife lived. Their home place, nearly a mile off the main road, was nestled among the irregularly-shaped fields lined by woodlands on this northeast Iowa farm. It's the family dairy farm where the victim grew up working beside his father. Now this young farming couple owned the 50 acre (20 ha) homestead and rented 230 acres (93 ha) more. About 100-acres in small, contoured patches with the rest timberland. Crops of corn and hay helped feed their small herd of beef cattle, a couple dozen hogs, and a few prized horses. The farmer discussed his work plans for the day with his wife before she left for her off-the-farm job and spoke with her again mid-morning when she called to see how he was doing. He planned to grind shelled corn for the livestock and to move some of the animals to different areas of the farm place. Later in the day his younger brother was coming and the two of them were going to visit a relative in a nearby town. When his brother arrived, he discovered the young farmer pinned between the front of the gravity flow wagon box and wheel of the tractor. The brother immediately telephoned for emergency medical assistance. Local law enforcement, fire/rescue, and first responder units arrived. Responders to the scene removed the victim from between the wagon and tractor and started resuscitation efforts within 20 minutes of the initial call. The victim had no pulse and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Iowa FACE Program became aware of this incident through newspaper accounts two days after the incident. A FACE case investigation was initiated and information began to be gathered from the County Sheriff, responders, and the Medical Examiner's Office. An Iowa FACE investigator conducted an onsite visit in late summer and interviewed the victim's spouse. Back to TopInvestigation A 23-year-old farmer was killed late in the spring of 2005 when his chest was crushed between
the front left corner of a gravity flow wagon and the back of the left rear tire of a tractor. The
wagon was an old, gravity-flow box with sideboards. It was mounted backwards onto an old
running gear riding on pneumatic tires (Photo 2). The tractor involved was a 1964 model 706
International Harvester (IH) with a wide front axle configuration, no rollover protective structure,
and an IH model 2250 front-end loader attached to its frame (Photo 3).
This farmer and his wife both worked on and off their farm. He worked three days each week for a local seed retailer. She worked for the same retailer four days each week. They always arranged to have weekends and one extra day together. Time not working off their farm was time spent working on their farm, caring for their livestock, and working the land. They raised about 15 acres (6 ha) of corn and harvested hay from 80 acres (32 ha) to feed their own livestock as well as provide some for sale. They enjoyed their small but varied mix of livestock: a few purebred beef cattle, a couple dozen hogs, and ten horses. Shelled corn for their livestock had been purchased from a local feed supply. This shelled corn nearly filled the small (150 bushel, 5.3 m3) gravity flow box in which it was stored. The wagon was then parked inside the machinery storage shed for protection against inclement weather. When feed for the livestock was needed, the farmer processed the corn from the wagon through a portable, tractor PTO (power take-off) powered grinder he shared with his neighbor. On the day of the incident, the
tractor was connected to the
wagon full of corn in the usual way, by a pin through the aligned holes of the wagon's tongue
and the tractor's drawbar. The farmer proceeded to drive the tractor forward, pulling the wagon
out of the shed toward the location that worked best for the grinding operation (Photo 4). This
location was a slightly elevated area on the gravel pathway about 10 yards (9 m) south of the
east end of the machine shed, one-third the distance from the machine shed to the farm house.
The tractor and wagon were positioned heading south toward the house with the left sidewheels of the wagon on the slightly higher east shoulder of the pathway. The slightly raised left
side made it easier for the shelled corn to flow by gravity down the sloping sides forming the
bottom of the wagon and out the adjustable opening located midway along the lower right side
of the wagon box. The lower elevation of this opening accommodated positioning the grinder on
the lower elevation west of the knoll so the shelled corn flowed easily from the wagon into the
grinder's intake hopper auger.
As was typically done after towing the wagon into position, the tractor was unhooked from the wagon then connected to the grinder. The grinder would then be moved into position with the tractor, remaining connected to it to provide the PTO-power needed for the grinder. This day, the grinder remained in the machine shed and the sequence of machinery movements never got past unhooking the wagon in its position on the elevated area of the path. The farmer spoke with his younger brother by telephone shortly after noon. His brother planned to come to the farm before 3 PM. When he arrived, he heard the tractor running, went inside the farm house for a moment then back outside to see what his brother was doing. He found his brother pinned between the front left corner of the gravity flow box (where the bottom slopes backward away from the junction with vertical front and side sheets) and the left rear tire of the tractor. The farmer was facing toward the wagon with the corner of the wagon box pressing into his chest. The brother telephoned for emergency assistance. The tractor engine was still running when first responders arrived. The wagon was disconnected from the tractor drawbar and the pin was on the ground below the drawbar. First responders noted that the tractor was in neutral with the parking brake set. The younger brother stated he moved a concrete block (silo stave) from its position about 4-inches in front of the right rear wheel of the wagon to a position ahead of the right front wheel of the wagon so the wagon would not move if emergency responders decided to move the tractor to free his brother. Marks made by the right rear tractor tire in the gravel of the path indicate the tractor moved ahead after coming to a sudden stop. One plausible explanation is that the farmer applied the brake for that wheel when he stopped, and then the force of the loaded wagon against the tractor nudged the tractor forward. Another plausible explanation is that the impact of the wagon against the tractor, with its parking brake set, caused the tractor to skid forward. A block ahead of the wagon's right rear wheel is consistent with statements by the farmer's wife that he always "chocked" the wagon during this feed grinding operation. She described it as a routine practice he learned in vocational agriculture studies during high school. The position of the block suggests the farmer was aware the wagon, when unhooked from the tractor, could roll forward and that he placed it there before pulling the pin to unhook the wagon tongue from the tractor's drawbar. The block on the gravel surface may not have been sufficient to keep it from sliding and the wagon from moving forward. Perhaps as this strong, young man pushed against the wagon to relieve forward loading so he could remove the hitch pin, or as he turned to hold back the wagon or get out of its way after pulling the pin, he was crushed by the front left corner of the wagon box pressing him against the tractor's left rear wheel. Back to TopCause of DeathThe cause of death according to the autopsy report was compressional asphyxiation due to the Recommendations/DiscussionRecommendation #1 Providers of gravity flow wagons and users of them should consider equipping wagons with mechanical means such as wheel brakes or chocks to prevent unintended movement when they are unhitched on uneven or sloping terrain.Discussion: Gravity flow wagons are often unhitched from their towing unit on sloping or uneven terrain where they could begin to move forward or rearward after the hitchpin is pulled, or at some time later. Mechanical means such as a parking brake or chocks can secure a wagon against such unintended movement. While more costly than chocks, a reliable wagon brake that can be activated at the time of disconnecting may be appealing to many farmers. Providing chocks properly designed to function and an easily accessible storage location on the wagon for them could also enhance safety.
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