A 76-year-old Missouri man narrowly escaped a horrifying fate after he was crushed beneath a bulldozer when the machine’s seat suddenly broke loose during a freak accident.
The terrifying incident unfolded around 12:13 p.m. on Aug. 29 in Olympia, Missouri, as the elderly man was driving the bulldozer up an embankment, according to authorities.
As he made his way uphill, the seat reportedly broke free from its mount, throwing him off the machine.
Things quickly went from bad to worse.
The bulldozer began rolling backward, and its massive left track rolled over the man’s legs, pinning him underneath.
Making the situation even more dangerous, the bulldozer’s fuel cell also broke loose during the accident.
But in an incredible stroke of luck, firefighters said the detached fuel tank landed behind the opposite track and stopped the machine from rolling any farther.
“Fortunately, the fuel cell was behind the other track and was just enough to stop the dozer from coming back any farther,” an Olympia Rural Fire Department official told KY3.
Officials said just a few more inches could have made the accident far more devastating.
Photos shared by the Olympia Rural Fire Department showed first responders surrounding the bulldozer as they worked to free the man, with one of his feet appearing to remain trapped beneath the heavy track.
Crews from several agencies rushed to the scene, including the Olympia Rural Fire Department, El Dorado Springs Fire Department, Milo Fire Department, Cedar County Ambulance and the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
Cedar County first responders, dispatchers and Cox AirCare also assisted with the rescue.
Firefighters and volunteers began digging around the man’s legs to free him from beneath the bulldozer.
Because rescuers initially could not tell how severe his injuries were — or even whether his feet were still intact — a medical helicopter was called to the scene.
The man’s son, Doug Wallace, later praised rescuers for acting quickly.
“Many volunteers helped dig his feet out and pulled him to safety,” Wallace wrote on Facebook.
He said his sister, who has spent much of her career working in emergency rooms, believed calling the helicopter immediately was the right decision.
“They made the correct call and didn’t waste time thinking about it,” Wallace recalled her saying.
The 76-year-old was flown to a hospital in Springfield, where doctors discovered he had suffered an ankle fracture and a crush injury to his foot.
Remarkably, he was treated and released from the hospital later that same day.
“Luckily, the outcome was good for the patient and his family,” firefighters said.
Wallace joked that the frightening ordeal might finally convince his father to stay away from heavy machinery.
“Maybe, just maybe, this will keep dad off machinery for a while,” he wrote. “I’m not even sure it’s been a year since his last ordeal.”
Days later, Wallace returned to the scene and got an even clearer picture of just how close his father came to being seriously injured.
He explained that on that particular bulldozer, the fuel tank also serves as the seat.
When it broke loose, the tank slid out of the back of the bulldozer and landed directly behind the right track.
“The fuel tank is the seat on this type of dozer,” Wallace wrote on Sept. 1. “It came loose, slid out the back of the dozer and PERFECTLY fell behind the right track of the dozer. Thus, stopping the dozer in its tracks!!!”
At the same time, his father fell directly behind the machine, with his feet sliding beneath the left track.
Wallace said one of his father’s boots could still be seen partially wedged underneath.
“I’m guessing that another few inches it would have crushed both feet,” he wrote.
Despite the frightening scene, the accident ultimately ended with what firefighters described as a fortunate outcome — and one very lucky 76-year-old walking away from an encounter with a massive bulldozer.