Man napping in field run over by combine

BILLINGS – A man napping in a Montana cornfield was startled out of his snooze when he was run over by a large harvesting machine – and Yellowstone County deputies say he’s lucky to be alive.

Sheriff’s Lt. Kent O’Donnell said the 57-year-old man had been traveling the country by bus and decided to take a rest three rows deep in a field on the outskirts of Billings, the state’s largest city.

A farmer who was harvesting on Wednesday felt his combine hit something. When he turned off the machine, he heard screaming.

Emergency responders found the man’s clothing had been sucked into the cutter, ensnaring him in the blades.

O’Donnell said the man, whose name was not released, suffered cuts requiring stitches and may need skin grafts, but given the circumstances is “incredibly lucky.”