Man partially crushed by bulldozer after freak accident

OLYMPIA, Mo. (KY3/Gray News) - Luck may be what helped a Cedar County man survive an accident in Missouri when a bulldozer partially rolled over him.

According to the Olympia Rural Fire Department, it happened around noon on Aug. 29.

The 76-year-old man was driving up an embankment when the seat broke free from its mount. The seat then hit the fuel cell, which also broke free, leading him to fall on the ground behind the bulldozer.

The bulldozer then started rolling backward, and the left track rolled over both of his legs.

“Fortunately, the fuel cell was behind the other track and was just enough to stop the dozer from coming back any farther,” said an official with Olympia Rural Fire.

Firefighters from multiple departments responded to stabilize the bulldozer and dig his legs out from under the tracks. He was discharged from the hospital on the same day with an ankle fracture and crush injury to his foot.