Former Rep. Jim Traficant (D-Ohio) was critically injured in a farm accident in Greenwood, Ohio Tuesday.
According to a report by Youngstown affiliates WFMJ and WKBN, the former congressman was at his daughter Elizabeth‘s home when the accident involving a tractor occurred. His wife, Patricia, reports that he’s in critical condition at Saint Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown (not to be confused with the mental hospital in Washington).
The ex-lawmaker was found trapped beneath a farm tractor. From WKBN: “Traficant was apparently attempting to drive the tractor into one of the buildings on the property when it struck another piece of farm equipment and overturned.” And from WFMJ: “Authorities say it appears Traficant had been pulling the tractor into the barn, and believe that it hit a steel blade causing, the tractor to flip over and trapping him underneath.”
Weirdly, a CNN News Editor, Ryan Sloane, cracked a joke about Traficant this morning to WaPo‘s Chris Cillizza, apparently not realizing he’d been in a terrible accident.
After serving for nearly two decades in Congress, Traficant was indicted on racketeering, bribery and tax evasion charges and spent seven years in federal prison. He left the jug in 2009.
Traficant is always remembered as a beloved lawmaker to members of the press and many Capitol employees who interacted with him daily on Capitol Hill. Observers in around the Speaker’s Lobby were endlessly amused by his antics. He could often be seen putting fellow lawmakers in headlocks.
Watch a news report from WFMJ here.