Tillery inmate dies in farm accident

by Lance Martin, Daily Herald Senior Staff Writer
Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 11:39 AM EDT

TILLERY — The death of an inmate run over by a tractor on a prison farm yesterday has been ruled accidental, according to the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and the state Department of Correction.




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Investigation by the sheriff’s office revealed Woody Chavis, 47, an inmate at Tillery Correctional Center and another inmate were preparing to hitch a trailer to a farm tractor when Chavis was run over.

Detective Roy Rooks said Chavis was in the tractor operator’s blind spot while they were working on the neighboring Caledonia prison farm around 8 a.m. yesterday. The operator was backing the tractor to the trailer, the Department of Correction said in a news release.

Prison medical staff administered CPR and first aid before EMS arrived and transported Chavis to Halifax Regional Medical Center in Roanoke Rapids, the department said. He was airlifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, where he died at 11:15 a.m.

Chavis was serving a life sentence for first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping.

Department of Correction safety officials are conducting a safety investigation and the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office reviewed the situation, the department said.

No foul play is suspected, the sheriff’s office and department confirmed.

Copyright © 2010 Roanoke Daily Herald

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