A 56-year-old Anthony man died Sunday evening after the tractor he was operating rolled down a steep embankment, marking the third such fatality involving heavy machinery in Marion County over the past couple months.
The fatal incident occurred along NE 21st Avenue Road at approximately 6:55 p.m. on Sunday, May 24. According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, the man was operating a John Deere tractor to perform maintenance on the dirt road.
During the maintenance work, the tractor traveled over a steep embankment alongside the roadway and overturned. Marion County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the incident, but the tractor operator succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The fatal incident is currently being investigated by FHP Crash Investigator Trooper Hatch and Homicide Investigator Corporal Crawford.
This weekend’s fatal accident joins two others that have occurred this year in Marion County involving farming and lawn maintenance equipment.
In early April, two elderly residents were killed in separate crashes involving a tractor and a lawnmower just two hours and a few miles apart.
On the evening of April 1, a 73-year-old Reddick man was killed when his lawnmower was struck by a Ford F-150 that failed to negotiate a curve and veered off NW 118th Street Road.
Later that same night, a 73-year-old Williston woman died from severe injuries after the sedan she was a passenger in rear-ended a large farm tractor traveling on U.S. Highway 27.
Before this weekend, at least 34 individuals had lost their lives in fatal accidents on Marion County roadways. This weekend, at least three more individuals were killed on local roadways.
Comparatively, through mid-June 2025, the county had reported approximately 30 fatalities on local roadways.