State Police say an 87-year-old Winnsboro man riding a lawnmower on the road was killed when he was hit by a pick-up truck. Master Trooper Michael Reichardt says 87-year-old Elmer Jennings was driving a zero-turn style lawn mower on U-S Highway 425 at a slow rate of speed Sunday morning.
“It was dark, the guy driving the Ford F-250 said he never saw the guy, he hit him from the rear,” said Reichardt.
Jennings was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle has not been charged. Reichardt says it’s not legal to ride a lawnmower on a public road.
“If you are mowing the side of the road, that is something different, but he was riding his lawnmower down in the travel lane just like basically where you are going to drive your vehicle,” said Reichardt.
Reichardt says routine toxicology samples were obtained and will be submitted for analysis and the crash remains under investigation.
“It’s a tragedy for this elderly gentleman to die in that way. We’re not sure why he was driving his lawnmower down US 425 that time of the morning,” said Reichardt.
