An 85-year-old Mena man was killed in a chicken house construction accident the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug. 7 near Newhope, according to Pike County Sheriff’s Department.
The accident killed Estes “Buster” Eugene Dennis.
The sheriff’s department received a 911 call at 2:40 p.m. that advised a dozer had run over a worker on a poultry pad construction site off Tollett Road. An investigation determined Dennis was operating the dozer and was in the process of coming back to the top of the site when he drive over a pile of dirt which made the dozer left to a near vertical position. Pike County Investigator Glen Hankins reported that when the dozer “broke over” it threw Dennis out of the seat and onto the right side track and he was pulled underneath the machine.
Dennis was pronounced dead at 4:22 p.m. by Pike County Coroner Ryan Pate.
Dennis was working for Rolling B Ranch out of Grannis. The company is owned by Joe Brinkley, who along with co-worker Danny Hammer witnessed the accident.
Hankins’ investigation determined the incident was the result of operator error.
