Paramedics say bystanders helped save the life of a Nebraska City man after a lawn mower accident Monday afternoon. William Knickman, 62, is listed in good condition today at Bryan LGH West hospital in Lincoln where he was taken by medical helicopter.
Knickman told paramedics that he lost control of a lawn mower he was using near 11th Street and 14th Corso and became pinned against a portion of a fence. The responding paramedic at the scene said Knickman was not able to breathe until bystanders pulled the lawnmower away from the fence.
“We can’t thank them enough,” said Knickman’s wife, Jeanette.
She said that employees of Henry Motors raced to his rescue.
“We just did what you got to do,” said Clint Eyman.
He and his supervisor, Mike Headley, found Knickman unconscious at the scene. Eyman said Knickman was trapped between the seat of the lawn mower and a bar on a fence, which restricted his ability to breathe.
The paramedics said that Knickman had been freed and was regaining his breath by the time they arrived.
Jeanette Knickman said that the retired meat cutter was on his first day on the job with National Seal Coat and Striping.
“It was just a freak accident while he was on a regular mowing job,” she said.
