John Fletcher of Lamar County’s public works department sustained facial injuries Thursday afternoon around 1:45 p.m. in what is being called a freak accident. He was working as the flag man directing traffic on Sanders Road while positioned about 40 feet away from the crew operating a brush cutter machine. Reportedly, as a six-inch limb was cut, the limb unexpectedly thrust some 40 feet into air and struck Fletcher in the face seriously cutting him. Mid-Georgia Ambulance transported Fletcher to Spalding Regional Hospital. ”We didn’t know this could happen,” reported county administrator Wayne Patterson. “Hopefully it was a freak accident. We’ve taken precautions to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” Patterson added. In the future, flag crews will be positioned some 100 feet away. The county bought the brush cutter in November and used it all winter. Crews recently completed the first cycle of cutting roadside limbs and brush across the entire county and had just started the second.
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