No roll bar, no seat belt in fatal tractor crash

A Central Otago man who died after being thrown from his tractor in a vineyard was not using the roll bar and did not have a seatbelt.

However, his employer and the vineyard owners had not breached health and safety rules, a Coroner’s report said.

James Henry Linwood, 66, was driving the tractor to spray vines with fungicide at South Edge Winery in Earnscleugh, near Alexandra, on January 22, 2021, when it tipped, Coroner Marcus Elliot said in his findings.

A witness said he heard the tractor turning, looked around and saw Linwood being flung from the vehicle, the findings said.

The tractor rolled twice towards the vines and then landed on him. Linwood died from his injuries. Investigations found the tractor probably tipped and rolled due to the slope of the embankment and loose dirt may also have contributed.

In addition, the weight of the tank on the rear of the tractor increased the chance that the tractor would roll.

A Worksafe investigation found a new operating procedure was implemented before Linwood’s death that meant drivers at the winery were told to use a large turning area of about five rows.

Linwood was seen to be following the procedure but evidence showed that on this day he had been turning at the second or third row, taking a more acute angle, which meant he travelled onto the steep embankment

The coroner said Linwood had significant experience as a heavy machine operator, including with tractors, and was working for Grape Vision Limited, which was contracted by the winery at the time.

There was no evidence of any mechanical failure or fault in the tractor, which was owned by the winery, the coroner said.

However, it was noted that it was fitted with a roll over protection system and that was not being used at the time.

The operator’s manual stressed that the roll bar must be engaged unless it was “strictly necessary” to lower it in areas of low head room.

Worksafe also found there was no seatbelt fitted to the tractor.

Grape Vision had since implemented changes including ensuring roll over protection systems were fitted on tractors that did not have them and fitting seatbelts to all tractors.

The coroner noted that Linwood’s family had raised concerns about the collapsible roll bar, the use of an open-cab tractor for spraying and lack of seatbelt.

However, all were within the Code of Practice, the coroner said.

WorkSafe determined that there was no breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

Bill Linwood said his brother, known as Jim, was a “true blue Central Otago man” who had worked in agriculture in the area all of his life.

Family declined to comment on the coroner’s findings.