[July 22, 2011] Man stable after tractor pull accident at Stanislaus County Fair Tweet Jul 21, 2011 (The Modesto Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A sold out crowd of about 3,000 people watched as a 16-ton tractor pull sleigh backed over a man at the Stanislaus County Fair. Loy Riddle, 51, was hospitalized with a fractured ankle and lacerations to his lower back, authorities said. He's in stable condition and is expected to recover from his injuries. About 30 minutes into the show Wednesday night, Riddle, a participant in the event, was standing behind a tractor pull sleigh when it backed over him, trapping him underneath, according to fair spokeswoman Adrenna Alkhas. Story continues below The fire department responded and fair officials brought in a fork lift to get the sleigh off of Riddle, Turlock Fire Department Battalion Chief Gary Lunsford said. He said the sleigh was so heavy that the fork lift started to tilt under its weight. About 15 people got on top of the tractor to help keep it down and the fork lift was able to move the sleigh just enough for firefighters to slide a backboard under Riddle and pull him to safety, Lunsford said. The entire process took about 20 minutes. A medical helicopter landed in the middle of the arena and Riddle was air-lifted to a local hospital. After medical crews cleared the arena, the tractor pull show went on as scheduled, Alkhas said. To see more of The Modesto Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.modbee.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Modesto Bee, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]