Man injured in mower accident improving
A Cape Coral man is improving at a hospital after he and his lawnmower toppled into a canal.
As of Tuesday, James Monroe Bates, 54, of 3569 N.E. 11th Ave., was listed in fair condition at Cape Coral Hospital, where he was transported following the accident on Aug. 3, officials reported.
At 11:27 a.m., Cape police responded to a personal injury call at 2103 N.E. 10th Place. Bates was operating a commercial-sized riding mower when he accidentally drove off of the seawall behind a residence. He was pinned beneath the mower in the shallow waters and “completely submerged.”
His wife, Dolly Bates, told police that she was in front of the home when she no longer heard the lawnmower. When she went to the back of the residence to see what was going on, two people on the other side of the canal yelled at her to call 911. They saw Bates and the mower fall into the canal.
The first officers on scene jumped into the water and freed Bates from beneath the lawnmower, officials reported. The nearby public works employees, who yelled for Dolly Bates to call 911, helped lift Bates over the seawall and into the backyard. Bates was not breathing, according to officials.
CPR was administrated on site before Bates was transported with life-threatening injuries.