Serious injuries were the result of a tractor rollover incident in Guthrie County this past Friday.

According to the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, a small farm tractor with a front end loader attachment that was driven by 65 year old Howie Hockenberry of Guthrie Center was attempting to move a large, heavy rock. As Hockenberry backed across the road at North 6th Street Place, the back tires ended up on the grass. According to the report, it is believed that the dryness of the grass combined with the weight of the rock in the front loader caused the back tires to lose traction, and the tractor began reversing downhill, unable to stop.

The report shows that Hockenberry took evasive action to bring the front of the tractor around, which caused it to overturn an unknown amount of times, coming to rest on top of him. Hockenberry was able to pull himself out under his own strength, but was significantly injured, and subsequently transported by Panora Emergency Medical Services to Guthrie County Hospital where he was transported to Iowa Methodist in Des Moines via air ambulance, with the extent of the injuries unknown at this time. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s office was assisted by Panora EMS, Guthrie Center Fire Department and the Iowa State Patrol.