Lawnmower Accident Leaves Man Trapped Under Water

A lawn maintenance man is alive today because of a quick-thinking neighbor and Edmond first responders.

A massive commercial lawnmower flipped into a tiny pond in Edmond, trapping the operator underneath.

“I heard somebody yelling ‘Help!’ so I looked down there and I saw the lawnmower upside down,” Edmond resident Vickey White said. “I could see his hat and he’s moving his head. At first, I couldn’t think what to do, so I ran in the house and grabbed my phone and called 911.”

Edmond police officer Chase Thackerson was first on the scene. Thackerson said he didn’t see the lawnmower operator when he arrived.

“And so, I’m thinking the worst,” Thackerson said. “I’m thinking, ‘Man, I got to get in there and if he’s underneath there, I’m going to have to go down and I’m going to have to find him.” 

Officer Thackerson held the victim’s head out of the water until the fire department arrived to move the machine.

“All of us jumped in the water and grabbed a hold of the lawnmower that was flipped up on top of him, lifted it up and the officer was able to pull him out,” Edmond Fire Department Capt. Jeff Ryan said. “That’s one of the good things I love about the job. Every day you come in, you don’t know what you’re going to be faced with and what you’re going to have to deal with, so it’s always changing.”

White said she just happened to be at the right place at the right time. She does not believe herself to be a hero. 

“Yeah, that’s what the policeman told me, too,” White said. “They told me that I’d saved his life, but I didn’t think that I had. I mean, all I did was call 911.”

We’re told the victim suffered minor injuries and is expected to be OK.