A 58-year-old man died Monday evening after he was apparently run over by a tractor while collecting hay bales north of East Helena, according to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton.
John Althof had started the tractor while his brother-in-law was putting horses back on the 3500 of Pioneer Park when the incident occurred, according to Dutton.
Between three and five minutes after the tractor started, the brother-in-law heard a loud crash and found Althof on the ground and nonresponsive, family members told authorities.
Life-saving measures were not successful.
The death was ruled an accident, and the cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma, according to Dutton, who also serves as county coroner.
Although no one saw the accident, Dutton said all indicators pointed to the tractor running over Althof.
Althof lived at the property.
