A late-night lawn mower accident turned deadly after a 25-year-old man was reportedly struck in the head when the machine fell onto him.
Emergency crews were called shortly before 11:30 p.m. Friday.
Washington Township firefighters reported that CPR was underway as rescuers worked on the victim.
Within minutes, deputies advised that the call had become a fatality.
A physician at Southern Ohio Medical Center confirmed the death at 11:40 p.m.
The victim was described as a devoted husband and father.
Because of the nature of the accident, the body was not immediately released to a funeral home. The Medical Examiner’s Office responded to take custody for further examination.
The available dispatch information does not explain exactly how the mower fell or what the man was doing immediately before the accident.
Lawn Mowers Can Be Deadly Machines
Most people think first about mower blades, but riding mowers present another serious danger: rollovers and crushing injuries.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has identified rollover, run-over, and back-over crashes as significant riding-mower hazards. A CPSC review found hundreds of reported rollover incidents over a 10-year period, including traumatic injuries and deaths.
Steep slopes, embankments, ditches, creek banks, and sudden changes in terrain can increase the chance of a mower tipping. Investigators have documented fatal crashes in which operators were pinned beneath overturned machines.
CPSC advises operators to follow the mower manufacturer’s instructions for slopes, keep rollover-protection equipment in the proper position when provided, and never lift or tip a mower while it is running. Friday night’s accident is a tragic reminder that equipment used every week around the yard can weigh hundreds of pounds and become deadly in seconds when it overturns or falls.
