Tripoli man killed while performing maintenance on skid steer

TRIPOLI – A Tripoli man was killed while performing maintenance on a skid steer last week.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, on Thursday, Dec. 5, the Lincoln County 911 Center received a call reporting that a man had been crushed by a skid steer at an address on County Rd. T in the Town of Somo.

The Sheriff’s Office said the reporting party, the victim’s son-in-law, went to the property and found the victim, identified by the Sheriff’s Office as Mark Krueger, 67, of Tripoli, pinned between the boom and the frame of the skid steer.

The reporting party advised dispatch that Krueger was unresponsive and he was unable to find a pulse.

According to the reporting party, Krueger had been working on the machine by himself at the time of the incident, using a front end loader and a chain to lift the skid steer bucket to perform maintenance. During the process, the chain failed and the arms fell on Krueger, pinning him between the boom and the frame of the skid steer.

The reporting party used the front end loader to lift the skid steer bucket off of Krueger to allow fire and medical personnel to extract him, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Krueger was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

Tomahawk EMS and the Tomahawk Fire Department, as well as Sheriff’s Office deputies, responded to the scene.