COLUMBIA FALLS – Flathead County officials say a 48-year-old Columbia Falls man was killed when a rented tractor slipped down an embankment and rolled south of Columbia Falls.
According to a press release from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Wesley Cobb died after being pinned between the tractor against a tree. He had been working on a driveway on Oct. 15 when the accident occurred. Cobb had been grading his driveway when the front tire of the tractor went off the edge of the driveway and over an embankment, causing the tractor to roll onto its side and over the embankment.
Cobb’s chest was pinned between the seat and roll bar of the tractor and the tree, according to the release, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The accident was not witnessed and Cobb had been working alone at the scene, according to the press release. Cobb’s 10-year-old son discovered the tractor on its side and Cobb pinned against the tree, and the boy called 9-1-1.
In previous reports, undersheriff and coroner Jordan White said the victim had been a truck driver and equipment operator and knew how to operate the tractor.
Emergency services received the call about the accident at 12:48 p.m. on Oct. 15. Sheriff’s deputies, Columbia Falls Fire, Badrock Fire, Western Towing and Three Rivers EMS responded to the scene at the base of Columbia Mountain.