A Benton County road grader slid off the snow-covered asphalt of Lee Town Road Wednesday night, ran through a barbed-wire fence and stopped across a second fence line.
The road grader operator, Stanley Drain, 51, of Rogers, was taken to Mercy Medical Center by Northeast Benton County EMS, according to State Police. Drain was injured when his head hit a fire extinguisher in the cab of the road grader.
Pea Ridge Ambulance personnel were dispatched to the scene on Lee Town Road about 1.8 miles east of Pea Ridge (just west of Wilkerson Road) about 7 p.m., State Police Sgt. Marty Pollock said, then NEBCO advanced life support ambulance was called to assist. Pea Ridge Police assisted at the scene.
Drain was driving eastbound on Lee Town Road when he traveled off the right side of the pavement, traveled about 130 feet parallel to the county road and struck a block driveway/retaining wall, culvert, according to the report.
State police said it appeared that Drain was attempting to steer back onto the highway. After the collision with the driveway, the grader blade struck the pavement causing the grader to rotate to the left, travel off the left side of the road, go down an embankment and strike a barbed-wire fence 20 feet from the edge of the road. The grader traveled another 100 feet through the field finally coming to rest at another fence line.
Damage to the road grader was estimated at $1,000 and damage to the fences owned by Lester Hall was estimated at $500, according to the State Police report.
Road conditions were slushy at the time and it was snowing, according to the state police report.
General News on 01/15/2014