Tractor Crashes Into House

“My daughter will never sleep in that room again”

The heavy machine caused considerable damage.(Bild: FF Großraming)

The family thought something had exploded when a driverless tractor crashed into their house. “The most important thing is that we’re unharmed,” says the mother the day after the accident. Her two daughters stayed home from school on Friday to process what they’d been through.

“I thought there had been an explosion”—Iris K. (50) from Großraming in Upper Austria didn’t sleep well on Thursday night. As reported, on Thursday afternoon a driverless tractor crashed into the family’s house, destroying the room of her 14-year-old daughter.

“I was still inside with her just a few minutes earlier; we were tidying up and took a photo. It’s dated 4:45 p.m.,” says the mother of two—the fire department was alerted at 5:07 p.m.

Debris Scattered Throughout the Room
“The most important thing is that we’re unharmed,” says the 50-year-old. She doesn’t even want to think about “what-if” scenarios, because the child’s room was completely demolished; pieces of iron and sheet metal—presumably from the window—had been hurled across the room and were lodged in the wall on the other side of the room.

Children escaped with a scare
The younger daughter (9) was in her room with a friend; her room is across from her sister’s—the girls got off with a scare. “The crisis intervention team advised us to take it easy,” says the mother. Her daughters stayed home on Friday; there was plenty to organize anyway.

Accident During Woodwork
“We have to clear all this stuff out of the way and figure out who sleeps where. I don’t think my daughter will ever sleep in her old room again,” says Iris K., who had often felt uneasy when the farmer was mowing up on the steep slope or hauling logs out of the forest. It was during the latter activity that the accident occurred when a chain snapped and a log got caught under the tractor.

Farmer Unharmed
While the 77-year-old was checking on the situation, the tractor rolled away beside him. He was shocked and speechless himself as he rushed to the scene of the accident. He also said that he had wanted to jump on it to stop the vehicle. The family is glad he didn’t do that—the attempt likely would not have ended well. As it is, the damage was limited to property. The fire department temporarily sealed up the house so the family could stay there.