A rural Arkansas City farmer remained in critical condition Tuesday after being run over by a combine as he worked in the Silverdale area Friday afternoon.
Dale Bradley was taken to Wesley Medical Center with severe head injuries, according to Ark City fire chief Randy Leach. A hospital spokesperson said the man was still critical this morning.
Just before 3 p.m. Friday, emergencies crews were called to 3110 131st Road where a man was reported to be trapped underneath a combine. Bradley was treated on the scene by fire and EMS crews.
“He wasn’t trapped underneath the combine,” Leach said. “But he was critically injured.”
Investigators are not entirely sure what transpired but said Bradley was standing on the combine’s ladder while another person was inside the machine. Somehow Bradley slipped or simply fell from the ladder and was run over by the combine’s rear wheel.
“It was kind of a freak deal,” Leach said.
An Eagle Med air ambulance responded to the scene from Oklahoma and transported Bradley to Wichita. Leach said police and fire crews know Bradley’s family very well and were extremely upset by the incident.
