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Man dies after being thrown from tractor in crash

A Good Hope, Illinois man died of injuries he suffered when the hay rake he was towing was hit by a truck, and he was thrown from the tractor he was driving.

A Good Hope, Illinois man died of injuries he suffered when the hay rake he was towing was hit by a truck, and he was thrown from the tractor he was driving.

Police said 86-year-old Robert Goodpasture was driving a Case IH DX5 utility tractor, towing a rotary hay rake, northbound on U.S. 67 near CR 1800 North, in McDonough County, Tuesday afternoon, June 17, 2014.   The driver of a northbound 2007 Chevrolet Club Cab truck was reportedly distracted and did not initially see the tractor, and then swerved to try to avoid a collision.

The truck, driven by 48-year-old Donald Hawkins of Monmouth, hit the hay rake.

“The impact caused the tractor to swerve violently and Goodpasture was ejected from the operators seat of the tractor,” said a spokesman for Illinois State Police.

Goodpasture was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, and later airlifted to a hospital in Peoria where he died.

Hawkins and his two passengers were all wearing seat belts, and none of them were injured according to police.

Hawkins was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, police said.

 

 

 

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