A Guthrie Center man was seriously injured last week after his yard tractor overturned multiple times down a slope. According to the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred at approximately 2:20 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, in an unnamed alley off of N. 7th Street. Authorities say 87-year-old Franklin Ray Mains was operating a 2025 John Deere X595 mower along the top of a steep slope. The lawn tractor slipped, rolling down the hill. Mains was ejected from the mower and sustained incapacitating injuries after the equipment rolled over the top of him. Panora Emergency Medical Services transported him to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines for treatment. Thursday’s accident marks the second serious injury caused by a mower rollover in a six-week time period.
