A 38-year-old man working on his southern Bartholomew County property died after his tractor tipped onto him while he was doing chores.
David Eckert, of 8801 S. County Road 300E, Columbus, died in the 10:33 a.m. Monday accident, Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting said.
The accident occurred at Eckert’s home near the intersection of County Roads 300E and 500S, west of U.S. 31 and north of Azalia, Nolting said.
The 10-acre parcel was listed as being owned by David Eckert and his father, Calvin R. Eckert, according to county property records.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
David Eckert was on the tractor using the front-end loader on an incline of the property, Nolting said. Eckert was attempting to fill a hole using gravel mixed with lime when the load shifted in the bucket and the tractor rolled, Nolting said.
Calvin Eckert was doing yard work with a trimmer when the battery went dead and he went inside to replace it, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Detective Terry Holderness said.
When the elder Eckert returned, he saw the tractor had overturned on his son and called 911, Holderness said.
The detective said the incline wasn’t extremely steep, but David Eckert had turned the right front tire at an angle, which caused the gravel in the bucket loader to shift to the downhill side, Holderness said.
Holderness and other deputies arrived at the scene within minutes of the 911 call. A wrecker was used to move the 6,500-pound tractor back into an upright position.
David Eckert was pronounced dead at the scene, the coroner said. Cause of death is listed as blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen, Nolting said.
Columbus Township Fire Chief Dave Thompson described the Eckert property as a small family farm. David Eckert, who had lived in the area his entire life, worked in farming, the fire chief said.
David Eckert had graduated from Columbus East High School and had a large number of friends in the Azalia area, where he grew up, Thompson said.
“He was a good guy — real down to earth,” Thompson said.
Eckert’s mother, Helen, preceded him in death in 2011 at age 62.
Arrangements for David Eckert are pending at Jewell-Rittman Funeral Home in Columbus, funeral home officials said Monday night.
