For the love of God be careful

I've been wrestling all day with how much to say about this. We went to Jackie's funeral this morning. She's the one that got hung up in the PTO shaft Sunday. Out of respect for her and her family,I've decided not to go in to detail about just how bad it was,I just want everybody to know it was worse than you could imagine. They don't know how long she was wrapped up,but she was still going around when Carl found her.

The only reason I'm saying anything at all is to make you think for just a little bit about what it'll do to a family member,fiend,or neighbor who finds you if you choose to be careless and commit suicide by farm machinery.

Doug went in to detail when he told the wife and me how bad she was. Everything was shut down before he got there,and that was bad enough,but Carl had to shut everything down after finding her. I don't know how he'd ever be able to close his eyes and go to sleep again as bad as the details were.

If you can't be careful for yourself,do it for everybody around you.

I deal with novices and rotating power machines/tools every day. I agree with you in all regards. we think we ""know the danger"" we underestimate it by a factor of 10. We need not Take Risks but we do. When we get by with it, it becomes Standard Operating Procedure. Danger becomes ever closer to taking you or another in its death grip. Even a hooded sweatshirt draw string is stronger than our ability to escape. Jim

That's so sad. Very good words from you Randy. Sorry you had to have that happen. That is just horrible.

That is so sad. My condolences go out to the Family and Friends

I don't have any drawstring on my sweatshirts anymore. When I lived downstate there was a farmer working on top of his grain bins at night and they found him with the drawstring pulled up tight around his neck after beeing caught in the drive system on the conveyer.
Another thing is gloves. I have a cousin that lost an arm in a convey unload a truck. The glove got caught and did not rip off it took his arm from the elbow down. They reattached it so he has some use of it.
I saw a demo on PTO shafts in FFA while in high school and it made a beliver out of me

A kid I knew had his friend get killed on a snow mobile he hit a fence at night. I spent several hours talking to him finally I talked him into going with me to see a priest I'm not sure what could have happened but I kept in close contact for a while. Maybe pass the word to someone who can help and maybe stop in and check on him as days go by he is going to be more alone and having more time to think. Good luck

The poor soul,thank you so much for sharing this. I showed it to my wife who I had to growl because she was going to unplug the corn chopper she runs for us this fall. I was so upset at her for even thinking of leaving the tractor cab with it running. Thank goodness she changed her mind and waited till I got back with the dump truck. This story has been a real eye opener to her for why I tell her to never ever leave that seat with the engine running no matter what. Thank you so much again.

So sorry to hear of this
I can't imagine or want too either what that person saw when he got there
prayers to out to him and all involved

THANKS rrlund it's a message we all hear and can't fathom till it effects them personally at some point

Everyone needs to give any piece of machinery a lot of respect
Once you've done that you need to reassess it again and give it even more
Any machine has no respect back for you if any part gets in it way and it happens faster than you can blink

PLEASE EVERYONE be SAFE out there

That's why Doug is beating himself up so bad. He'd been doing custom work,shelling corn for the Mennonites and hadn't started picking his own yet. Jackie had been badgering him to get going. He said that was the first load. He told her to leave it,he'd unload it after he picked another load. He said she absolutely knew better than to be near that shaft. He said he even parked the tractor so the wheel was in the way of her getting in there near it if she did go against his wishes. She did it anyway and he can't figure out for the life of him why she got in there near it. One of those things that nobody will ever know.

Its been on my mind all week. I can only imagine what he saw when he arrived at the scene.

I've been working long hours. Helping my friend with corn harvest. Running wagons on a busy road, babysitting the dryer and flipping leavers on the grain legs making sure your running the right corn into the right bin at the right time. It can be pretty hectic at times. I can see how one little lapse can cause a major problem. We can never over due it when it comes to being safe.

I can't imagine how I could live with something like that. My prayers go out to her family.

The other ag forum has a discussion on such things too.

I force myself to read these threads.

Every day I have to say to myself, if something happens it's my wife that will have to find me, and I don't want that.

Helps keep ne thinking and take that extra step or extra couple seconds to do things better.

Thanks to those of you that share these deals, they have to be difficult to do so.

And condolences to those involved, it's so sad.

Paul

Not good. There is a way of getting past this. Think the best thoughts you can, then let them fade slowly into the background of all your experiences. Sure , sounds like BS. I have had a few nasty deals like this, in fact, your story brought some back. We have to learn that life goes on , no matter what has happened today or in the past. Best I can do,

PTO shafts are damnably dangerous if they don't have a safety cover. My paternal grandfather was grabbed by an unguarded shaft while unloading corn and was hospitalized but lucky enough to survive. My uncle on my mother's side lost an arm and broke the other when he got caught in a shaft on a corn sheller back when earn corn was stored in cribs to be shelled later. A 2-year-old boy in our general neighborhood lost both arms when he got caught on a PTO shaft. Farmers are often in such a hurry they don't take time to consider the potential consequences. The result can be horror stories. I am deeply saddened to think about it.

Roger, it is now when he will find out who his true friends are. A true friend will visit with him and provide a shoulder for him to cry on. A good friend will listen, just listen to his stories only giving advice if asked. I know you can do it.

It isn't just unguarded PTO shafts. Neighbor lost leg when coveralls became tangled in the cover on shaft on grinder mixer.

Sounds like a terrible thing for all involved.I once bought a Case 500 diesel with torn up back fenders,story was the PTO shaft broke while the fellow was bush hogging and the end left on the tractor beat him to death.Cured me from running PTO equipment on tractors that had an over hanging seat over the PTO.

The same thing happened to a neighbor in 1966 with a Super 88 Oliver and a feed wagon..It wasn't good..
They had to cut him off..Please be careful..

I admire your discretion, Randy. Sounds like is was simply awful. I have gotten very ugly with family at times over this sort of thing. Nobody seems to get it.

That was a well written warning to those who farm and get careless. Things get fast and furious at harvest time. Farmers get tired and have multiple things on their minds all harvest long.

God bless the ones who are dealing with this horrible tragedy.

Be safe. Life is fragile.

My thoughts and prayers are with their friends and family. Farming is dangerous to say the least. Very sad thing to read about. PTO accidents are bad stuff. Be safe out there folks.

Greg

i feel for the family, i know its bad, growing up around the farm, and even working in a gravel pit which mined its own materials as an adult, safety is critical and constant, one second of in attention, 1 piece of loose clothing, strings, a leg or arm in the wrong place, or not watching a swinging piece of machinery and your dead, a couple of years ago upstate a man died in a large size loader, he came in on the weekend when the place was closed, he was a plant supervisor so he knew what he was doing, he was digging with the loader against the base of a highwall of material, the highwall gave way and crushed him inside the cab of the loader,crushed the loader too, safety, bad decision 1, never work in a dangerous place alone, always have somebody who can either rescue or go for help, 2, never dig at the base of a highwall, go up on top of it and push it down, farming is the same way, 1 bad decision,such as entering a silo, getting off a tractor to check a running piece of machinery, or a shortcut can and will kill you

That you know the family and went to the funeral should be warning enough.

I had my own wakeup call with a pto on a baler. Fortunately the only victims were a couple of hydraulic hoses and some electrical wires.

Good lesson, and sound advice. I ran my hand through the (un-gaurded) gathering chain on a one row picker when I was 15. Thankfully dad was there and hit the clutch. My hand stopped at the top of the cog, and it still nears three neat square scars in the palm and back. Not a day goes by that I don't look at them and thank God it wasn't worse than it was. I make a point to share with everyone I can, so maybe they won't make the mistake I did.
My sincerest condolences to the family, and I pray for strength and wisdom for them and you.
Mac

thanx randy , spare us the details ,.I try to be careful every step ,. but things just seem to happen , this occurred to Me 15yrs ago,. the predator was a replaced shear bolt , a misplaced shield on the 60 ft auger ..we intended to use the 930 Case as the power for the auger . I wanted the antifreeze to circulate better ,.. my son came walking up and said the battery needed more ummph if we were gonna use the 930 ..I told him ,,. "never mind here comes Virgal in the semi right now,. go get the little 1010 massey ,". all went well ,. we were all lined up and had everything filling and loading,.. and had just started chat visiting , when I noticed the small spill on the hopper ,,. I had a pc of triangle tin about a foot big that i placed at the problem spot , as I moved back away from the auger my left foot slipped on the mud snow and my hammer hook caught the rotating end of the shearbolt,.new coveralls and new sweats under that , turned into a instant turnacut ,. the still cold little 15 horse massey strained and lugged down to a halt..and not a second too soon ,,. I was jammed with my knee supporting the weight of the hopper and auger, (my knee bothers me occasionally today ),.. there was a pipe wrench on the bin foundation ,. virgal grabbed it and was winding back the shaft all the while asking me if I felt my legg break,?,. I told him "I did not think so but I think all circulation to my legg was cut off" ,. the clothe was so mangled . I suggested that there was utility knife in my right leg holster to cut my clothes off the shaft,. which was wound up clean into my left front hip pockets,.using the knife ,it was not long virgal found some change and then a couple bolts ands nuts wound up in there ,,. I made lite of the situation and said" if that's all the nuts he found we would be alright " .. Michael began telling virgal we intended to use the 930 , HAD WE DONE THAT ..we all agreed my left leg mite have been broken clean off because of the new clothes ,. i went to the river with virgal and unloaded did not barely have any pain, BUT, the next morning ,. oh my ! was I ever swelled up and in pain! ,,. went to Dr. he told me my bone was bruised and to expect a goose egg on my leg in a week to 10 days if it was severe enuf..and told me to " STAY OFF OFF IT " gave me some infection pills and a few for pain that I only took at ..10 days later I had a banana sized goose egg on my left leg..which was still black and blue and purple ,. it hurt for another month or more .. I WAS LUCKY,.

Prayers for your friend, you, and anybody else involved in this tragedy.

I work by myself 99% of the time, so safety is paramount. My wife often wonders why I am so 'high strung' and I keep telling her that if I don't stay vigilant or 'high strung' I take the chance of getting complacent and getting hurt. I can't afford to do that, not only for myself, but also for my wife and daughter.

I don't intend to sidetrack from the original post. If is a horrible thing that happened, and unfortunately accidents like that happen way too often to people, even when being careful. I do want to add to everyone always look up. About a month ago we lost a father and son on the other side of town. Son was a couple years older than me. They were moving an auger in the yard, I believe rolling it by hand, when it came too close to the high wires. Father was dead on the scene and son did not make it to the hospital by air. Those power lines did not appear over night. I'm sure they moved the auger around them countless times. It was Sunday morning, and they must have been in a rush to get things ready. Our whole town was quiet for a few days after this.

we lost a good man in the county when the 7ft trench they were digging to drainpipe a sunk dry pond over to another sink hole,. the ground had a water vein about 5ft down and it allowed the earth to slide over and crush him,.



my 2nd cousin phillip in the early spring of 1973 was killed in a similar fashion ,. he was putting in another septic system this time for himself and his futurewife ,. he was actually digging the septic tank hole and was all but done . when he must have got down off the backhoe to check his grade, then the bank gave way bringing the tractor down on him too..sadly he was alone and there was clear evidence he tried to free himself,This happened a couple weeks before he was to be married,. he was not found til the next very cold morning when a passer by noticed the tractor idling away in a precarious angle..,and walked over to find phillip nearly frozen stiff .his jacket draped across the new Ford pickup door with the radio still playing loud in the truck . his parents suspected he chose to spend the nite at his future girlfriends parents house and chose not to pry when he did not come home ,his daddy was there earlier and went back to the farm to help my aunt finish the milking .. the girlfriend knew he was working hard and had brought him supper over and figured he went home to bathe and rest and she too chose not to bother him . all were within 2 miles of the site .and to this day still kik themselves forv not double chekin on him ,.. but phillip was the kind of self made 21 yr old guy that always helped others and rarely need help himself .... Phillip had helped his daddy put in septic systems and was proficient at running all sorts of equipment since he was 12 yrs old ,family folklore claims that he could load a backhoe into a coalcar and that is what inspired the you tube video ,. but maybe someone is just building up a good young man that was fataly taken away from us..but I do recall he could handle a piece of equipment like he had been born on it,.. very sad ..

another sad backhoe story , happened about 1985,. a neighbors Ford Backhoe that I had used serveral times to put in a half dozen septic systems killed its owner ,. he was 67 ,,again it was a very cold day he was wearing heavy clothing and was unloading a 4 bottom plow from a flat bed,.and had accomplished his task , bUT , he made the fatal mistake of working the levers from the ground ..the rotating boom lever got tangled into the ragged sleeve of his shirt or jacket ,. while he struggled with freeing his sleeve the delicate lever rotated the boom rite into his back,pinning him between the tire and the boom squashing the life out of him,.there is only about 4 inches of clearance..apparently the squeeze was so quik and intense he could not have the stable mind to reverse the lever ..

YES ,.We must avoid rushing at critical dangerous times ,. AND BE MINDFUL OF DAnGER ALWAYS,. but sometimes accidents happen in the strangest ways,. and when it is Gods time to Harvest Us ,. we have little choice, but to fall into his loving arms ,. just pray EACH DAY that he chooses to keep US and give us heaven , if that does indeed sadly happen

paul you are,so rite ,. you probably know how tall a massy 750 combine is,. when cheking the fluids and or other problems up there,. I really am careful getting down from behind the cab onto the platform that is nearly 7ft off the ground ,. and I put the combine tranny in neutral ,.the hydro likes to creep if I were to fall and break my neck thedam thing would roll over me very ,very , very, slowly ...
which reminds me of a very quick death with a silage blower ,. happened about 1972 on the farm my cousins drowned on in the 64 ohio river flood..the new caretaker had been there 5 seasons ,. his dad would come up from ky and help when he colud .he was in his 70s and all think he had lost his footing when he climbed upon the unloader to probably dislodge a plug,. he fell into the blower.. enuf said ,.. please be careful !!!

That would have been horrible,there was a man not
far from here the same thing happened to 20 years
ago.

Accidents happen even to the most cautious of people. Anyone who is supporting a family should have accidental death and dismemberment insurance. It's quite cheap. I pay ten bucks a month through my employer for a one million dollar policy.

I had an uncle killed by a PTO accident. Corner later ruled he died of a massive heart attach, then fell into the PTO which ripped him apart.

My Thoughts go out to the family,,, The post is a good one to make us all more aware of what we are doing,, years back a custom cutter we had used and was friends with always had his wife driving one of the grain trucks,, she was a top hand at it too,,, one day she was backed up to a auger running grain into a bin, she had one of their younger children with her,, I do not know exactly what took place but the truck started rolling backwards and the child was right behind the rear duals,, the mother rushed to grab the child and shove them out of harms way,, managed to do that but was caught under the wheels herself and was crushed right there Sad Day, she had been doing this for 15 years when this happened only takes a split second to have something happen Please Be Careful
cnt

Really sorry to hear that , In my life time i have seen some really nasty accidents and the brutality of war . I will not go into details . My heart goes out to the family and close friends . As we age we slow down on reflexes our balance is not as good as it use to be we get forgetful and we do DUMB stuff . You hear and see it everyday . Guys getting crushed under combine heads loosen and arm or leg OR life to a moving piece on equipment , rolling a tractor over , guys getting trapped in qa grain bin, silo manure pit the list goes on and we all tell each other to be careful . The getting in a hurry thing is what get ya and not taking that one min to think it out before ya do.

WOW. That is sad. Evidently they live just North of my Nephews. Jim lives about maybe a quarter of a mile North of 57 on Staines Rd.

Practically across the road. The farm on the west side. Doug's quite the Deere collector.

First and foremost, My sympathies for anyone involved in or by a tragedy such as these. There are so many things that can happen to anyone. Please think ahead.