Jeffery Powell Elkton, Michigan deer hunter, 13, run over & killed by harvester in freak accident after falling asleep in Chandler Township rural cornfield.
A Michigan teenage deer hunter died in a freak accident after he was run over by a corn harvester in a field Saturday morning.
Jeffery (Jeffrey) Lewis Powell, 13, of Elkton, Michigan, died during the incident which occurred Saturday just before 9am in a rural cornfield in Chandler Township, Michigan.
The Huron County Sheriff said Jeffery Powell had been dropped-off at the field so he could go hunt deer earlier in the day and had likely fallen asleep in the cornfield, WJRT reported.
A man, 25, from Pigeon, Michigan, returned to the field at about 9am, to finish harvesting it, not knowing that there was anybody in the field.
While driving a large Krone corn chopper, the man apparently drove over Jeffrey Powell, only realizing what had happened after finding him ‘a very short while later,’ the Huron Daily Tribune reported.
‘Died doing what he loved…hunting.’
Emergency workers declared Powell dead at the scene with an autopsy ordered.
Authorities said the boy was accidentally run over by a Krone corn chopper.
In his obituary, Powell’s family said that he died ‘doing what he loved…hunting.’
The eighth grade student was said to have been an accomplished hunter, fisherman and archer, who was a state champion on his middle school’s archery team, in addition to playing on its seventh and eighth grade football team.
In his down time, Powell was described as enjoying playing online video games and Xbox.
Friends and relatives described Powell as being a generous and enthusiastic child.
One of the teen’s former teachers noted that Powell ‘LOVED Science and anything to do with nature!’ and that he would also ‘stand right next to me, look up and give me the biggest grin he could.’
She wrote that ‘He was very helpful and would share personal experiences about animals, trees, and ecosystems’ and added ‘When I retired June of 2019, Jeff wrote the nicest, most endearing letter to me. I know he is up in Heaven helping all the little angels get their wings.’
