Published: July 01, 2009 09:41 pm      

Peru man crushed by tree

PERU — A rural Miami County man died when a large tree pinned him against his tractor.

At 8:37 p.m. Tuesday, Indiana State Police troopers responded to 4153W 500S on a report of a man trapped beneath a tree. Upon arrival, officers found 66-year-old David M. Sullivan pinned between a large tree trunk and the roll bar of his John Deere tractor. Sullivan was unconscious and not breathing.

The troopers lifted the heavy tree trunk off of Sullivan and held it away from his body until firefighters arrived and removed him from the tractor. Despite lifesaving efforts by first responders, Sullivan was pronounced dead at the scene.

A preliminary investigation revealed that Sullivan was apparently using the front loader on his tractor to push a large tree trunk out of his yard. The tree trunk either rolled back onto Sullivan or the tractor went forward causing the tree trunk to end up on top of the tractor, pinning Sullivan on the roll bar. The tractor was not equipped with a cab.

The Grissom Fire Department, the Miami County Sheriff’s Department and Dukes Hospital EMS assisted at the scene.