Man dies when tractor rolls into canal
A Mattawa man died when his tractor rolled into an irrigation canal Friday.
FILE PHOTO
MATTAWA — A Mattawa man died Sept. 4 when the farm tractor he was riding rolled into an irrigation canal, trapping him underneath it.
Ricardo Estrada, 49, was pronounced dead at the scene, near the 23000 block of Road K Southwest, said Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
“He got too close to the edge of the canal. The bank gave way," Foreman said.
The tractor rolled into the water, trapping Estrada's legs, Foreman said, and neither his fellow workers nor emergency response crews could get him out in time.
The canal was a branch off the main canals and relatively smaller, he said, but still dangerous.
"It appears to be not much movement, when in fact the current is fast enough to carry you downstream," Foreman said.
With the conditions around irrigation canals, caution is called for, he said. "Chances are we're not going to get to you in time to rescue you," he said.
An autopsy is pending.