Published: June 04, 2009 08:33 pm      

Man injured badly in fall from tractor Thursday

An 81-year-old Elkhart man was critically injured Thursday morning when he apparently fell off his tractor and suffered multiple cuts and lacerations.

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, Mardeas McKinney, 81, of Elkhart was listed in “critical” condition of the intensive care unit at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, according to ETMC spokesperson Rebecca Berkley.

McKinney was injured at approximately 8 a.m. Thursday in a tractor accident at his residence on Watkins Street in Elkhart, according to Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor.

Anderson County sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Chason responded to the call.

“It looks like he (McKinney) was trying to get on the tractor, cranked it and fell off,” Taylor said. “It had some sort of disc attachment and it cut him pretty bad.”

McKinney was lifeflighted from the scene to ETMC in Tyler, according to the sheriff.

Taylor said he was “uncertain” whether there were any witnesses to the accident.

The sheriff said the tractor was an older model, possibly from the 1960s.

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Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com