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Published on 08/17/1998 All articles from this issue

Bobcat tractor accident traps driver in ditch

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue

Town Crier Staff Writer

After being freed by rescue workers, a helicopter airlifted the victim of an industrial accident in Los Altos to the trauma unit at the Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center.

There he was treated and discharged, said a hospital spokeswoman.

Robert Crun, 35, was driving a Bobcat tractor at a construction site in the 200 block of Fremont Avenue in Los Altos. About 11:20 a.m. Aug. 19 the Bobcat lost its footing and rolled into a foundation ditch, said Sgt. Ron Vierra of the Los Altos Police Department.

"The Bobcat landed nose-first, in a vertical position, and trapped Crun inside," Vierra said. Crun complained of neck and back pain.

Firefighters from the Santa Clara County Fire Department freed the victim from the Bobcat. An ambulance transported Crun to the parking lot of St. William Church on El Monte Ave. From there he was airlifted to the hospital, police said.

Crun was working for Pat Gard Foundations, Inc., of Campbell, putting in a foundation, police said.

It's not often that a helicopter is called to Los Altos for a medical flight, Vierra said. The last one he remembers was seven or eight years ago when one landed on the playground at Egan School to airlift a baby who was having convulsions, he said.

The helicopter belongs to Stanford University, which provides the airlift service, Vierra said.