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HENEFER, Summit County — A 5-year-old Henefer boy was fatally injured Saturday after he fell off a moving tractor and was caught between a tire and the tractor frame.
About 11:40 a.m., the boy was riding on a foot rest platform on the left side of a John Deer tractor driving near 1195 N. West Henefer Road, almost one mile from his home. The boy fell and was injured as he got caught between a tire and the tractor frame, according to Summit County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Bridge.
Kent Nichols, the family's LDS bishop, identified the boy as Brayden Townley.
The tractor was being driven by a family member, who was traveling to a local gas station to refuel. A second family member was following on an ATV and witnessed the accident.
North Summit emergency medical personnel and a medical helicopter crew responded to the accident, but the boy was pronounced dead on the scene, Bridge said. No citation was issued.
Nichols said Brayden was "full of energy, as five-year-olds are. He was just friendly with everybody. He is that kind of young man."
Nichols said the community is close-knit and that support for the family is widespread.
"Tomorrow when the whole community finds out what's going (on), I'd say it will be a sober community tomorrow," Nichols said Saturday. "However, we'll work it out."
Colten Joiner, a volunteer firefighter who lives near where the accident occurred, was one of the first people to respond to the accident. He expressed his love and support for the Townley family.
"Anything that involves a child is hard to handle," Joiner said. "Bad things happen to good people. It's just a test for us to see if we can continue to do what we can, what we're supposed to do on this Earth and try to become better people and help those in need."
Contributing: Mike Anderson
