SUNDERLAND — First responders spent more than 45 minutes extricating a 22-year-old man from underneath a tractor Thursday afternoon before the farmworker was airlifted to the hospital on a LIFE STAR helicopter.
The Sunderland Fire and Police departments responded to a farm near the Hadley town line off Route 47 at approximately 12:47 p.m. Deerfield and South Deerfield firefighters were later asked to respond, alongside the Deerfield Police Department and South County EMS.
“They were working on removing or freeing a stuck piece of equipment and something went wrong. We’re still trying to figure out exactly [what happened], but the tractor turned over and landed on him. He was pinned underneath,” Sunderland Police Chief Erik Demetropoulos said. “[First responders] were able to support the tractor, which was great because upon further examination, once we got it up to a certain point, if we had just tried to lift it off of him, he would have broken multiple bones because of the way in which he was wedged.”
Although he could not comment on the extent of the farmworker’s injuries, Demetropoulos said he was awake and speaking during the more than 45-minute-long extrication process. He added that first responders faced a minor language barrier trying to extricate the man, who mainly spoke Spanish.
“He was talking when we got him out, so I would like to think his injuries were not life-threatening, but you always hope for the best, of course,” Demetropoulos said. “We don’t know exactly, because I have no idea, once that tractor was removed from him, what other internal injuries were happening.”
After the man was removed from underneath the tractor, South County EMS transported him to the Sunderland Public Safety Complex, where the helicopter was waiting.
Demetropoulos said he was grateful to all of the parties involved in bringing the farmworker to safety. He said he was unsure whether the incident would warrant an Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) investigation.
