A 27-year-old single mother of three riding on a lawn mower was killed Friday afternoon after being struck by the wing of an aircraft at Broken Bow Airport in Oklahoma, reports say.
Samantha Hayes was hit on the head and declared dead at the scene, the New York Post reported. The 70-year-old aircraft owner, James Baxter, had been landing at the time and noticed someone riding a lawn mower, according to Fox25. Baxter tried to pull the plane back up to avoid hitting her but was unsuccessful, the outlet reported.
Mom of 3 riding lawn mower at Okla. airport killed after landing plane’s wing hits her in head https://t.co/XSWIz3lcUL
— New York Post (@nypost) October 2, 2023
Baxter emerged from the fatal collision without sustaining any physical injuries, NBC News reported. The female victim had been working at the time of the incident but her employer is unknown, state Department of Public Safety spokesperson Sarah Stewart told the Post. Broken Bow Airport does not have air-traffic controllers on staff, according to the Post. They reportedly rely on pilots self-announcing their takeoffs and landings via radio. (RELATED: REPORT: 65-Year-Old Woman Dies After Being Ejected From Golf Cart)
Officials said the weather was clear when the incident occurred. An investigation is ongoing.
“She was a single mom who worked hard to give them a safe and loving home!” Darlene N. Tadleigh, identified by the Post as a friend of Hayes’, wrote on Facebook. She called on people to “keep the prayers coming for her family.”
“We are heartbroken and devastated by the passing of one of our team members on Sept. 29. This is a terribly tragic accident, and our deepest sympathies go out to the employees family and friends,” city manager Vickie Patterson said in a statement cited by NBC. “It’s critical that we determine how this accident occurred so we can take steps to prevent something like this from happening again. Our goal is to return every employee home safely every day.”