Louisville man, 81, drowns in lawn mower accident
From Staff Reports
An 81-year-old Louisville man apparently drowned Friday afternoon when his lawn mower overturned into a stream and trapped him underwater.
Robert Lewis Hale, Wayne Rankin Road, Louisville, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a release from Blount County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Marian O’Briant.
The man was on a zero-turn-radius mower crossing a small wooden bridge over a little stream that was 2 to 3 feet deep when the mower fell off the bridge. It landed on top of Hale, trapping him in the water.
A neighbor found him at least an hour after the mower was heard running.
Police were notified of the accident at 2:30 p.m.
Another neighbor said the man had been cleaning up the property about two months with plans to sell it. He said Hale had safely crossed the bridge many times in the past.
Blount County Sheriff’s Department, Blount County Fire Department and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers all responded to the scene.
