Worker Killed In Fort Snelling State Park Accident

FORT SNELLING STATE PARK (AP) - A worker was killed when a backhoe tipped over at Fort Snelling State Park.

Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Pat Hogan says a crew was dredging a drainage pond on MAC property near the park entrance when the backhoe tipped over onto the driver and killed him about 10 a.m. Monday.

Hogan says the ground was soft, so coworkers were laying down planks to provide a path for the machine, but it still tipped over for some reason.

The spokesman says the backhoe operator was working for the contracting company J.M. Hentges & Sons, of Jordan, and that Monday was the first day of the project. The victim's name was not immediately released, pending notification of relatives.

The pond catches airport runoff to keep pollutants out of the Minnesota River.