2.30pm: A man was knocked unconscious after being thrown from a tractor that rolled 10 metres down a hill at Lake Heights on Tuesday.
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The man was using the tractor to slash a grassy hill off Whimbrel Avenue, near Osprey Drive, when it struck a rock and he lost control about 9.15am.
The tractor tumbled about 10 metres down the hill and landed upside down on the road. Its operator, a 55-year-old man, was ejected from the vehicle.
“He was at the bottom of the embankment unconscious … he would have been thrown off it [the tractor] when it was rolling,” NSW Ambulance Inspector Norm Rees said.
“We were unsure whether the tractor rolled over him or not, so we just treated him accordingly.”
The man sustained a fractured right leg and a collapsed right lung, along with injuries to his pelvis and head.
He was stabilised at the scene and taken to Wollongong Hospital for further treatment.
Inspector Rees said the man was slashing grass on a block of land, using a “full-size tractor”, when the accident happened.
“He’s hit a rock and knocked the tractor off centre, and it’s rolled down the hill,” he said
“The tractor had actually rolled down the 10 metres and then rolled onto the road. It was upside down on the road leaking diesel.”
Fire and Rescue NSW crews, including a HAZMAT unit, worked to prevent fuel spreading.
“There was a very small amount of diesel and engine oil leaking, which Fire and Rescue crews made safe,” FRNSW Inspector Scott Rainnie said.
SafeWork NSW has been notified of the incident.
10.30am: A man has been taken to hospital with multiple injuries, including a fractured leg, after a tractor rolled down a hill at Lake Heights on Tuesday morning.
The man, aged in his mid-50s, was found unconscious when paramedics arrived at the accident scene on Whimbrel Avenue about 9.15am.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Norm Rees said the man was slashing a block of land with the tractor at the time.
“The tractor’s tipped over at the top of the hill [which] is approximately 10 metres,” Inspector Rees said.
“On examination, we found that he’s got a fracture to the leg, to the pelvis and we think a pneumothorax [collapsed lung].”
“He’s been stabilised at the scene and we’re transporting him to Wollongong Hospital for ongoing treatment.”
Initial reports suggested the tractor had rolled about 20 metres, but that distance has since been revised.
9.45am: A man has been injured after the tractor he was operating rolled down a hill at Lake Heights on Tuesday.
The tractor was being used to slash grass on a hill off Whimbrel Avenue, near Osprey Drive, when the accident happened about 9.15am.
A NSW Ambulance spokesman said paramedics were treating a man in his mid-50s for back, hip and leg pain.
The man wasn’t trapped, but was semi-conscious when paramedics arrived, the spokesman said.
Initial reports from the scene suggest the tractor rolled 20 metres down the hill.
It is understood the tractor, which landed upside down on the street, is leaking diesel.
More to come.