On the afternoon of Monday, February 24, a fatal farming accident happened in Meade Township. 18-year-old Brandon Ricker and his grandfather, 72-year-old Stewart Bouverette were coming home from cutting wood when tragedy struck.
The ground was wet and very muddy that day. The surface conditions of the ground were very poor. Both men were riding an Oliver tractor along the ditch line. At one point the tractor got too close to the ditch and tipped over.
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Both men were trapped, but Bouverette managed to free himself shortly after the tractor went down. Ricker remained trapped and pinned underneath water by the weight of the tractor. Bouverette climbed on top of the ditch and called for help.
Sergeant James Hunt responded to the call at the farm around 1:35 p.m. The farm is located east of McMillan Road and south of Crown Road.
Hunt and Bouverette were unable to free Ricker due to the weight of the attached log splitter.
Eventually, area firefighters from Kinde, Huron Ambulance personnel, and others with a loader came and they were able to help lift the tractor off the man.
Once freed, they began emergency procedures on Ricker. He was unresponsive. The Huron County Medical Examiner’s Office pronounced him dead at the scene.
The Huron County Medical Examiner has also ordered an autopsy on the man.
The CDC recommends tractors have roll-over protection. They have also released a line of cost-effective rollover protective structures (CROPS). There are only four types of tractors that these CROPS fit. They are more cost-effective than the standard roll-over protection that manufacturers offer.
After doing research, the release stated that they were on an Oliver tractor. Oliver tractors are an older type of tractor. They were bought out by the White Farm Equipment Company in 1960. There is no roll-over protection for the older tractors.