EDGECOMB, Maine — An Edgecomb man’s legs were pinned in a tractor following an equipment malfunction on McKay Road the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 27. James Schmal, in his mid-50s, was trapped between the tractor and a backhoe attachment after something appeared to have come loose in the attachment, Edgecomb Fire Chief Roy Potter said.
Both of Schmal’s legs were pinned due to the equipment malfunction and appeared to be broken, Potter said. The Edgecomb Fire Department, Edgecomb First Responders, Wiscasset Ambulance Service, Boothbay Region Ambulance Service, Boothbay Fire Department, and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office responded to the accident, which was reported shortly after 1:30 p.m.
Schmal was extricated from the tractor by the Boothbay Fire Department.
The Wiscasset Ambulance Service transported Schmal to LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus with paramedics from the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service, Potter said. Schmal was stabilized at Miles and transported to a Portland-area hospital, he said.
“It’s incredible how well (mutual-aid agencies) work together,” Potter said. “It was a difficult situation, but we worked together and we were able to get him out.”
“It goes to show you just never know what you’re going to respond to,” Potter said.