BOONE COUNTY, Ind. — A 72-year-old farmer might lose both of his legs after a farming accident near Thorntown on Monday.
Lloyd Hayden was in his corn field picking cane and weeds out of the field while his farmhand, Thomas Ward, was driving a combine, said Sgt. Chris Burcham of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.
“He (Hayden) was in front of the combine,” Burcham said. “Mr Ward didn’t see Mr. Hayden in front of him and Mr. Hayden got caught up in the corn head.”
Hayden became caught by his legs in the corn head of the combine. A corn head is the part of the combine that strips the stalk and leaf away so that only the ear and corn husk enter the “throat” of the machine.
Paramedics were called and they took Hayden to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.
Hayden was in stable condition on Tuesday, according to the Boone Co. Sheriff’s Office.
Sgt. Burcham said that while Hayden’s age might surprise some people, it’s not uncommon to see farmers of his age out working in the fields.
“We have quite a few farmers and farm hands who help throughout the entire county,” said Bucham. “From young kids helping out to old farmers who own their own property.”
Sgt. Burcham said he had a message for the young people coming into Indianapolis for the annual FFA Convention:
“One thing anyone going into a field that involves heavy machinery should be ‘obsessed with’ is safety.”
(PHOTO: Jean-Francois Motier/Getty Images)
