LOWGAP, N.C. (AP) — Surry County officials have released the name of a man killed while trying to start a tractor.

EMS director John Shelton says 73-year-old William Leonard Hodges of Surry County died Saturday afternoon after he was caught under the left rear wheel of the tractor.

Shelton said Hodges was standing in front of the wheel when he cranked the tractor. The tractor went into gear and Hodges was struck.

Authorities say the tractor was older and didn’t have a mechanism to keep it from starting while in gear.

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