GOSHEN, NY – A farm worker was killed when a tractor he was operating overturned Friday.
Goshen town police Sgt. Allen Faust said the worker, identified as Felipe Garzon, 49, of Pine Island, was driving the tractor inside a food storage bay, a concrete structure with three walls, shortly after 6 p.m. Friday when the accident happened.
Faust said the tractor’s front tires came in contact with one of the walls and began to climb the wall, causing the tractor to overturn, pinning Garzon underneath.
Farm owner Philip Johnson, using a front end loader and a chain, was able to lift the tractor off Garzon. The farm is the well-known Fort Hill farm.
Farm workers Alexander Campos and Jose Mesa then began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Garzon until Goshen Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Mobile Life Support Services crews arrived.
Garzon was taken to Orange Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The Orange County Medical Examiner’s office was scheduled to perform an autopsy Monday to determine Garzon’s cause of death.
Faust said the investigation is continuing but no foul play is suspected.
“It appears to be just a tragic accident,” he said.