A Mountain View man died Friday afternoon after being run over by his own vehicle while attempting to repair it at a boat ramp along the White River, authorities said.
The Stone County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as 62-year-old Vincent Lafon Rutledge.
Deputies were dispatched to the Martin Access boat ramp in the Marcella area, southeast of Mountain View, shortly after 2 p.m.
Upon arrival, emergency responders found that Rutledge had already been moved to a nearby landing zone for airlift to medical treatment. A deputy who went to the landing zone to check on Rutledge’s condition learned the man had died from his injuries at the scene.
According to an incident report, Rutledge was attempting to back his boat into the river when he began experiencing mechanical issues with his truck. A witness who was with Rutledge at the time told investigators that the truck’s gear shift felt loose.
In an effort to fix the problem, Rutledge parked the vehicle, placed a rock under a tire as a wheel chock, and crawled underneath the truck to perform repairs. While he was underneath the vehicle, the truck rolled over the rock and onto him.
The witness, who was inside the boat during the incident, jumped out and managed to get the truck back into park before calling for emergency assistance.
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