Electrocuted Farmer Came Back To Life

Electrocuted Farmer Came Back To Life AG WORLD Ag World 18-6-22 While traveling throughout the Midwest in search of first-of-its-kind farmer-built invention stories, farm writer C.F. Marley frequently comes across related stories that he sometimes can hardly believe. Following is an account of a farm accident that occurred in the fall of 1985. Although this incident happened nearly 10 years ago, we thought it was a story worth telling since this farmer was one of the lucky few who've ever survived an encounter with a high-voltage power line. John Friedman, Chatsworth, Ill., knows exactly what it feels like to be electrocuted. He also knows what it feels like to come back to life. Friedman was accidentally electrocuted when a grain auger he was handling came too close to an overhead electric line. Even though the auger didn't touch the line, it got close enough so the electricity in the line jumped to the auger. The resulting jolt threw Friedman through the air about 12 ft. Surprisingly, that was the best thing that could have happened because Friedman's doctor told him later it was the hard landing after his flight through the air that re-started his heart. "He said I was actually dead while flying through the air. My heart had stopped. It was the hard blow that got it started again," he says. The electricity went through his body, burning holes in his hands and feet where it entered and exited out through the nails in his boots. It also burned holes in his gloves, socks'and boots. "When it hit me, it sounded like a jet plane," John says. "The next thing I remember was waking up and seeing three other guys who had been working with me. I thought I was a goner and I was saying goodbye to them. Then things started getting a little better, and I noticed the wind blowing through the trees." Friedman spent 35 days in a hospital burn unit while his neighbors finished harvest for him. He spent the rest of the fall and win-ter recuperating and was ready to go again in the spring. Contact: John Friedman, Chatsworth, Ill. 60921 (ph 217 388-2478).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.