Farm tractor driver injured in collision

A farm tractor driver was injured in a collision between two vehicles on Wednesday morning.

James R. Earl, 83, of Warsaw, complained of back pain after the accident and was taken to the Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, according to a press release from the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.

The driver of the other vehicle was not injured.

Emergency crews were dispatched to the 4900 block of West CR 200N in Harrison Township at 9:59 a.m. on Wednesday for a collision involving a 1952 Ford 8N tractor, driven by Earl.

Preliminary investigation results indicate that a 2021 GMC Sierra, driven by Travis L. Heckaman, 35, Plymouth, was behind Earl’s tractor before the collision. The accident occurred when the front right corner of Heckaman’s pickup truck struck the left rear wheel of the tractor, as Earl’s tractor began to turn in its driveway, the statement said.

Earl was thrown from the tractor as he slid off the road in his yard.

The cause of the incident is still under investigation.