Man hospitalized after falling from moving hay trailer

Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 24, 2015

A Rockwell man was transported to Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast after he fell 14 feet from a moving hay trailer early Saturday evening.

Highway Patrol Trooper S.L. Herrin said a witness traveling behind the trailer said it was traveling about 10 mph in the 2000 block of Emanuel Church Road toward Old Beatty Ford Road in Rockwell.

“She said, ‘The hay just shifted,” Herrin said.

There were three men on the trailer – two fell. One of them was not seriously hurt, but the other, Chris Troutman, was seriously injured.

Herrin said the 29-year-old from Rockwell had a visible head injury near his eye, but he didn’t know the extent of his injuries.

Emergency crews initially planned to fly Troutman to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, but it would have taken the helicopter 40 minutes to arrive. Instead, he was transported by ambulance to Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast.

Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast confirmed Troutman was a patient, but could not share his condition.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing. No charges have been made at this time.