Man hurt in freak tractor accident

A man was badly hurt after the tractor he was driving flipped backwards on a Bay orchard.

The incident in Paengaroa yesterday is the third to be investigated by the Department of Labour in the Bay in as many weeks.

The 61-year-old man was taken to Tauranga Hospital after the tractor flipped backwards as he and his kiwifruit gang worked shortly before 1pm.

Maketu Fire Brigade chief Shane Beech said the man had been towing a trailer loaded with three to four bins of kiwifruit.

"He came up on to a rise at the end of a kiwifruit vine and the tractor flipped backwards on to the trailer," Mr Beech said. "He managed to get himself out, we don't know how. He had quite a few injuries."

The tractor had been thrust so far backwards, its steering column was shunted hard against the bins of kiwifruit. It was the only thing to stop the tractor from going any further upside down. The man was left wedged in his seat but pulled himself free by the time firefighters arrived. "He was in a funny position next to the trailer, obviously in a lot of pain," Mr Beech said.

St John Ambulance staff took the man to Tauranga Hospital. A St John spokesman said it was "very lucky" the tractor stopped when it did. "It could have been much more serious," he said. "He is lucky to be alive. He should go buy a Lotto ticket."

A hospital spokeswoman said he was in a stable condition last night. Firefighters and ambulance staff class all head injuries, including facial lacerations, as serious until they can be diagnosed further at hospital.

The incident is the second at a Paengaroa kiwifruit orchard involving a tractor this month.

A 15-year-old boy was crushed and critically injured when he was run over by a tractor at Furze orchard and trapped underneath on April 10. The teen broke his pelvis and legs and had chest injuries. He was also in a stable condition last night.

The next day, a 34-year-old man was seriously injured when a farm truck crashed at Pongakawa.