News: Owen Youth Dies (Freak Accident - 2016)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Hoover

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 9/21/2016

Owen Youth Dies (Freak Accident - 14 September 2016)

By Todd Schmidt

A 16-year-old Owen boy died as a result of a farm accident that occurred in the town of Hixon.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Department (CCSD) received a 9-1-1 call Sept. 14 at approximately 9:47 a.m. reporting a teenager in a manure tank. The initial investigation indicates that Jonas Hoover, 16, was spreading manure in a field when he stopped the tractor he was operating after emptying the manure tank he was pulling.

Apparently the manure tank was malfunctioning. The CCSD said Hoover turned off the tractor’s power takeoff and entered the empty manure tank. A piece of metal was found near the agitating valve, which caused the spray pattern to be affected.

Hoover was found unconscious in the tank after being inside for an unknown amount of time. He was removed from the tank by members of the Owen-Withee-Curtiss Fire Department. He was taken to Ministry St. Joseph’s Hospitals in Marshfield, where he was pronounced dead.

The Owen-Withee-Curtiss Area Fire and Ambulance Service and Spirit Air Ambulance responded to the scene with the CCSD. The investigation is continuing by the CCSD and the Clark County Coroner’s Office.