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Boy, 11, accidentally runs over grandpa and uncle with tractor

Posted at 4:40 PM, Oct 04, 2014
and last updated 2014-10-04 16:46:00-04

BLENDON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Two men were hospitalized Saturday after an 11-year-old boy ran them over with a tractor.

The incident happened at about 12:58 p.m. in a driveway in the 4900 block of Baldwin Street , according to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department.

Officials say the boy’s uncle and grandfather were trying to teach him how to operate the tractor when the boy’s foot slipped off of the clutch and the tractor jerked forward.

The boy’s uncle, 45-year-old John Duane Hoeksema, sustained a leg fracture in the incident.   His grandfather, 75-year-old John David Hoeksema, suffered internal injuries.

Both men’s injuries are considered non-life threatening, officials said.