In a farming accident last month, a young boy and his great-grandmother died after being hit by a farm combine. An expert said such accidents are rare.
“Combines today in the field are incredibly safe,” said Bill Field, safety specialist for Purdue extension. “They look monstrous. They cost a million dollars. There are just a lot of blind spots around them.”
Police continue to investigate the deaths of 4-year-old Maverick Flinn and his 68-year-old great-grandmother in Jackson County. Police have not released the woman’s name.
Flinn was taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour where he was pronounced dead. The woman was flown to a hospital in Louisville and died a few days later.
Field worked on the 2023 Indiana Farm Fatality Summary report. He says the number of fatal farm accidents with young children has decreased in the last few years due to educational efforts on farm safety. In 2022 and 2023, there were zero farm-related deaths involving kids ages 1 to 17.
Field said young children should stay out of the field.
“These younger children are exposed to fairly heavy vibration and noise that can cause permanent hearing damage,” he said, “and we've seen that over the years, with some of the research that's been done with small children, we just don't think they ought to be exposed to that loud equipment.”
Field said there are few farm safety programs because of funding cuts. But experts at Purdue, including Field, have headed programs such as “GEARING UP for safety.” The program offers lessons for young children on how to work safely on a farm and use machinery properly. Field said about 300 teachers a week pull material from the website to use in the classroom. The most popular topics relate to tractors, parts identification and the service and maintenance of tractors.
“We can't be everywhere. So we're excited about having that many teachers every week, somehow pulling stuff down, using lessons,” Field said. “So, the outreach, or the impact, we think, is pretty big.”
