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4 wheeler accident

B

Big Swede

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 21, 2008
Messages
1,179
Location
South Dakota
My neighbor was found dead yesterday after he hit a wire gate with his 4 wheeler. The gate was always thrown open I guess and someone had shut it without him knowing about it. Such a tragedy. He leaves a wife and 3 sons.
 
He was a nice guy. I bought a paint horse from him many years ago, and it was Sparky's horse for quite awhile. I sold the horse back to him when his own kids needed a good steed. He also bought a bucking bronc from us, and that horse went on to the SD state finals as a bareback horse. He was always very interesting to visit with and will sure be missed.
 
Sad news, but I´m going to relay the story to my ranch hands so they´ll realize just how dangerous the use of a 4 wheeler can, especially when encountering something like a wire gate.

For instance, check out the photo of my water cannon below. The thing uses a long wire cable that´s spooled out and then connected to a stationary object such as a tree or post. The action of a water turbine causes the machine to respool the cable and thereby moves the machine along slowly as it waters the pasture.

Several times I´ve been speeding along on my 4 wheeler looking at the sytem in operation, cows, or whatever to suddenly realize that the cable is suspended ahead about 3 feet off the ground!

I need to warn them to run it closer to ground level and-or mark it clearly along its path so that a bike or horseback rider doesn´t meet with an accident.

Again, sorry to hear about your neighbor. 4 wheelers are not toys.

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Very tragic deal. He was a real nice guy. Seemed like the kind that could conquer anything life had to deal out.

Made me think of the couple of times I blew through a wire gate at night in a pickup and how much damage it did.
 
Big Swede said:
My neighbor was found dead yesterday after he hit a wire gate with his 4 wheeler. The gate was always thrown open I guess and someone had shut it without him knowing about it. Such a tragedy. He leaves a wife and 3 sons.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear that. My sympathies and prayers will be with his family.
 
garn said:
Big Swede said:
My neighbor was found dead yesterday after he hit a wire gate with his 4 wheeler. The gate was always thrown open I guess and someone had shut it without him knowing about it. Such a tragedy. He leaves a wife and 3 sons.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear that. My sympathies and prayers will be with his family.
Click to expand...

Prayers will be greatly appreciated by his family.

As a nieghbor and friend I worked for and traded help for many years with this man. He taught me a hell of alot. I rode thousands of miles gatherin rodeo stock and doing the cattle works with him. He was a cowboy and could read stock like a book. He will be greatly missed. His boys will carry on and do fine, its just really sad things happen like this.

Pat Keegan
 
About three months ago, a rancher up the valley from us was killed in an atv accident. He left to go check cows and didnt show up by dark. They figure he rolled the wheeler and had severe head trama. He was alive when they found him but unconcious. He did enroute to the hospital. Bad deal and my thoughs and prayers sure go out to these folks Big Swede mentioned too. Hope it reminds us all to slow down and be careful.
 
I use 4 to 6 bags of Morton salt in my water softener each month. I run the wire thru the handles of the bags and then put a small wire to keep them spaced out and have them on my wire gates. Still about 20 years ago three of my neighbors ( all brothers ) ran pick-up trucks thru the same gate the same day.

I kind of shook my head at the frist one ( they have electric fence on their property ) but by the third ( about 4 hours after the first ) I kind of blew up and told them how dumb they all were. One of them replyed they could not see the wire - - - I ask if he could see the bright yellow bags and he said yes and he drove between them!

My prayers go to the family and I hope that some of you put big yellow bags on your gates and possibly keep some one else safe.
 

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