August 28, 2007

Man dies in grain bin accident

       Every Thursday afternoon, Richard E. "Dick" Henderson would wave to his neighbors along County Road 150W as he cut the grass on his farm.  The 80-year-old Bargersville farmer loved working outside, neighbor Julie Rice, said.  He died doing what he loved: working on the farm, she said.  Henderson died Monday morning after being trapped in a grain bin filled with corn near his home at 518 N. County Road 150W for at least an hour, Bargersville Fire Department spokesman Paul Bird said.  He was on top of his grain bin when he either fell in or stepped in incorrectly. No one saw him fall in, Bird said.

         About 40 neighbors, family members and firefighters from three departments frantically dug for an hour to pull him out. Henderson was dead when he was found, Bird said.  When people fall into bins full of crops, such as corn or other grain, they can be sucked under and suffocate after a couple of minutes.  Henderson had been working on the farm with his son, Mark Henderson, 50, Bird said.  The grain bin was about 80 percent full with 8,000 bushels of corn.  The fire department received a 911 call at 9:19 a.m.   Emergency responders and volunteers cut three holes into the bin to let the corn drain out and had to constantly pull grain away from the holes so that the bin would continue emptying.  A unit from the Indianapolis Fire Department that specializes in structural collapse and close-space rescue removed Henderson from the bin, Bird said.  Augers, pipes that suck out the corn from the bin, were used to remove the corn.

         Julie Rice's husband, Glenn Rice, had stopped by his home with some of his employees when he heard people yelling. Rice and his workers rushed to the grain bin and tried to help.  Despite his age, Henderson had the body of a 60-year-old and the mind of a 40-year-old, Julie Rice said. She said he enjoyed helping her four children raise their horses, pigs and goats for their 4-H projects.  "We saw him out every day, driving by waving," said Todd Vandeman, Henderson's neighbor and Julie Rice's brother.  "It didn't matter if it was 20 degrees below or 120 degrees, (he was outside)," Julie Rice said.  Vandeman said he spoke with Henderson Sunday night.  Henderson was worried about Vandeman's 15-year-old son, who was in the hospital with appendicitis.  "Dick called all concerned about my son. That's the kind of guy he was. We couldn't have asked for a better neighbor or friend," Vandeman said.  Henderson also farmed with his other son, Brent Henderson, 44, and lived with his 80-year-old wife, Rosie.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)
 

        
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