Local man dies after tragic tractor accident

By Adam Gaub, Assistant Editor
Published on Wednesday, August 30, 2006 10:10 AM MST

A local businessman died Monday morning after his tractor rolled over his legs and pinned him in a field in Safford for more than nine hours on Sunday.

Daniel Patrick Lee, 32, was found around 4:30 p.m. Sunday evening when 9-year-old Kade Whitmer rode down east Relation Street on a bike and discovered Lee underneath a tractor he had been using to rake hay. According to Lee’s father-in-law, Bill Kempton, Lee was fighting off a swarm of bees that were attacking him and jumped from the tractor, only to fall and be pinned up to his hips by the left rear wheel of the tractor.

“His cell phone was in his front pants pocket and was buried against the ground, so he couldn’t call for help,” Kempton said.

Rescuers arrived on the scene after the call went out at 4:44 p.m. and used a backhoe they chained to the tractor to pull the heavy machinery off Lee. Paramedics and firefighters coordinated the rescue effort while triaging Lee at the scene, hydrating him and checking his vital signs.

Once freed, Lee was airlifted to University Medical Center in Tucson and arrived lucid enough to talk to doctors and family members.

Kempton said even in Lee’s final hours, the quality of his character showed through.

“The hospital staff mentioned he was very polite,” he said. “He was a great guy, well-liked.”

Kempton said Lee was lucid right up until he was sedated for exploratory surgery early this morning. Kempton traveled to Tucson with Lee’s wife of 11 years, Danielle, and other family members.

Kempton said he died due to toxins that had saturated his body and forced his kidneys and heart to fail.

University Medical Center spokesperson Loretta McKenzie confirmed Lee’s death, which Kempton said was around 4 a.m.

“Had he been rescued in the first hour, he probably could have survived,” Kempton said, “but he had been there so long.”

Kempton said Lee was out in the field raking hay for his business Brier-Lee Custom Hay Inc. Lee bought the business from longtime owners Tom and Paul Brierley in June of 2004, according to Tom’s wife, Nancy.

“He worked for us a couple of summers ago,” Nancy Brierley said. “He kept saying he wanted to come back to the Valley and to farming.”

Lee, who was raised in Benson, worked on farms most of his life, Kempton said. He had taken a job in door manufacturing in Phoenix before returning to the Gila Valley to work for and then take over Brierley’s hay business, Nancy said.

“He really liked what he was doing, and he really tried hard,” Nancy said.

Contact Adam Gaub at 428-2560, ext. 240, or e-mail him at adam@eacourier.com.

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Comments

14 comment(s)

Genevieve wrote on Oct 22, 2009 7:59 PM:

" I visited this spot in 2001 and had a wonderful time, in the two weeks I was there I greatly enjoyed the spring, the people and hiking in the surrounding area. The time I spent here was the highlight of my winter adventure. I played dominoes, drank tequila and picked up pretty rocks (and soaked in the spring of course!) It sounds like some terrible things have happened since and it's a shame that it's now closed. I would have loved to have seen it again. "

Tricia Wenzl wrote on Sep 20, 2008 4:32 PM:

" Re: Eve Batchelder murder-2006. I personally knew Eve as did many of my other co-workers and we were appalled that her confessed murderer was allowed to plead to a lesser charge (obviously) to escape the death penalty. This was a pre-meditated murder and kidnapping, resulting in the death of a wonderful, gentle soul not to mention leaving her two children without their mother! Jason Martinez does not deserve to live at the expense of the taxpayers with the chance that he could be paroled! Society cannot afford to be "soft" for the fear of peer pressure. "

ciara wrote on Jul 17, 2008 9:06 PM:

" hi i would like to know what time the pool opens "

Warnar Moll Amsterdam The Netherlands wrote on Jul 14, 2008 11:20 AM:

" I agree with Rustom Kevala.
In literature there are many scientific indications that the preparation of the sacred liquid (Haoma),could not contain a Hallucinogen-Entheogen drug (cf publications of Harry Falk, Jan Houben, Frits Staal and the late Mary Boyce).
As a plant-physiologist and toxicologian, I did some study about the preparation of Parahom (as described in Avesta). From the scientic point of view it is impossible that the sacred drink is hallucinogen.
I do not understand the arguments of the Pima's Church of Cognizance.
It is as stupid as the assert: Jesus used Marihuana. "

tom wrote on Apr 19, 2008 3:15 PM:

" if having someone go through something like especially a child is not an invasion of privacy then nothing is but then thats the 9th circus for you "

F THE SYSTEM!!! wrote on Feb 14, 2008 9:15 AM:

" Who cares about ibuprofen anyways! its just a pill that peopel take for headaches and aches who cares about what the school system. If someone suffers from chronic headaches and stuff like that they should be allowed to carry it around. IT was a bad thing to distribute it around to others, but they should be able to keep it anyway. Its not like teachers are all that willing to let students out of the classroom just because of a headache!!! SMS should be sued. Strip searching a student like that should NOT BE ALLOWED!!!! "

LaVae McClellan wrote on Feb 5, 2008 1:51 PM:

" Eric and Kevin Yazzie are my brothers, they always will be. Yeah its true they had a history of fighting, but thats all u see. The Eric and Kevin i know are happy and fun loving, make everybody laugh. I miss kevin, but theres nothing we can do for him now. As for Eric they need to let my brother go already "

joe tapia wrote on Dec 9, 2007 8:05 PM:

" I have spent half of my life in this canyon along with my cusion juan luepke and I would like to know what threats to the public that our gate is causing. there is another way into the canyon then through our property. Just before you get to the cobra guest ranch on klondyke rd take the tully springs\old aravaipa town turn follow for about 4 miles there is a side road just after the second cattle guard the road turns east you have to open a few gates but there not locked. "

JOE TAPIA wrote on Dec 9, 2007 12:11 AM:

" THE ROAD THAT EVERY ONE HAS USED FOR THE LAST 20-30 YEARS, Is owned by my family. as I have been told to me by my father that the b.l.m and nature conseverency asked to use our road because their easement down by the river kept getting washed out by floods.So when norma put the gate up the b.l.m asked the conservency to redo the road by the river again conservency said no way. By,joe tapia "

Katelynn Nichols wrote on Dec 7, 2007 5:34 PM:

" Clifford Bea Fowler is My uncle ans my cousin Kelci's dad he may be a white supremeist but he still loves his daughter.But he should be held responsible for his actions. "

Stephen wrote on Nov 30, 2007 8:57 AM:

" My thoughts and prayer's go out to the late Bobby Bell's family. "

SMSmom wrote on Nov 9, 2007 12:11 PM:

" I will be notified if my child is in so much trouble that he may need to be stripped searched. "Depending on circumstances"--NO I WILL BE NOTIFIED!!! TRY ME!!! "

Keisha wrote on Oct 27, 2007 8:03 PM:

" I'm sure if these guys were a threat to society action would of been taken. I'm not condoning such behavior but Linda sounds like she's up to no good. "

linda wrote on Oct 26, 2007 11:59 AM:

" Is there any way to post the photos of these molesters "in" the schools so that the children and school staff may detect any possible molesters? After all they are the ones who would most likely see them. "

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