County worker injured in ATV mishap
A Marion County employee was seriously injured Sept. 1 in an all-terrain vehicle accident at 230th and Bison.
Deborah S. Metzer, 49, of Marion, was driving an ATV through a ditch to enter a field to spray for noxious weeds at the time of the accident.
"She bailed off of the ATV," said Bill Smithhart, director of Marion County Noxious Weed, who witnessed the accident. "The front end came up on her."
Smithhart was with Metzer at the time of the accident because it was Metzer's first time on the newly- purchased vehicle.
"I had taken it out previously," Smithhart said. He said he had trained Metzer to use it and was preparing to return to other duties when the accident occurred.
"The incident occurred on the edge of a ditch where the ground wasn't even," Smithhart said. "She (Metzer) wound up on her knees."
Smithhart said Metzer was unable to stand or lay down due to her injuries and said he was thankful he was still there when the accident occurred..
"She could have been there a long time in the ditch on her hands and knees," Smithhart said.
Metzer was airlifted by LifeWatch to Wesley Medical Center from the accident scene, Smithhart said
"She'll be wearing a back brace for a while," Smithhart said. "She's very lucky she wasn't more seriously injured."
Metzer has been a county employee with the weed department since April 2001. The ATV was not damaged.
