A 12-year-old boy sustained minor injuries after the tractor he was driving left the road, flipped on its side and broke a utility pole near Brownstown.
Aidan Schroer of Brownstown suffered a cut on his knee in the accident Sunday evening. The incident also left Jackson County REMC customers in the area without power for more than an hour.
“He had just turned off County Road 250E and was driving east on County Road 25E,” Jackson County Officer Rick Meyer said of the incident, which was reported at 5:20 p.m. The area is just east of Brownstown.
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Schroer’s father, Brian Schroer, who was in the area and leaving a field at the time, heard the tractor hit the pole and went to the scene, Meyer said.
The Schroers live in the 5400 block of East State Road 250 but had been feeding cattle they have in a field on County Road 250E, Meyer said.
Brian Schroer said that, when he arrived, his son was out of the tractor and walking around.
Aidan Schroer, who also complained of wrist pain, was taken by family members to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour for treatment, Meyer said.
The incident began as Aidan Schroer was driving a John Deere tractor from a field back to the family’s residence, Meyer said.
Aidan Schroer told police the right-side tires of the tractor went off the road as he was driving east, and he was not able to get them back on the road before the tractor flipped over and hit the utility pole.
Lt. Andy Wayman with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said state law does not prohibit youth under the age of 16 from driving farm implements when they are being used for agricultural purposes.
Officers Rob Henley and Jeff Walters assisted with the investigation of the wreck.