Worker dies in farm accident at apple orchard
By Lynn Moore | lmoore8@mlive.com
on September 30, 2016 at 3:02 PM, updated September 30, 2016 at 4:26 PM
OCEANA COUNTY, MI – A farm worker was killed at an apple orchard Thursday when a stack of bushel boxes fell on him, according to the Oceana County Sheriff's Office.
James Grantz, 54, of Shelby was working in the orchard on West Wever Road near South Water Road in Shelby Township when the incident occurred around 11:11 a.m., said Sgt. Craig Mast, of the sheriff's department.
According to a news release from the Oceana County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were dispatched to assist at a medical situation in which the subject had suffered serious injuries. Deputies discovered that Grantz was moving a stack of 20 bushel boxes that were nested together four high, so a total of 12 boxes were involved.
It is believed that the tractor he was operating, converted to a forklift, went over uneven ground and the top of the stack of boxes fell and hit Grantz. The tractor continued to back up until it hit a pick up truck.
Other workers tried to help Grantz and an ambulance transported him to Mercy Health Lakeshore Campus in Shelby where he died.