CLEARWATER --- An 83-year-old Aiken County man was killed Tuesday when his tractor overturned while he was preparing a garden.
Coroner Tim Carlton identified the victim as Louis Atkinson.
"Apparently he was attempting to plow a drainage trench downhill toward a pond on the property when he drove the tractor down a near 8-foot drop-off causing the vehicle to overturn," Mr. Carlton said in a news release.
The death stunned family and friends who gathered Tuesday afternoon near Mr. Atkinson's home on Cherokee Drive.
"Daddy was just a kind man," said his son Charles Atkinson. "... He was willing to help people whenever they needed it."
His father loved the outdoors, enjoyed fishing and hunting and would do whatever he could to help out a friend in need, Charles Atkinson said.
According to the coroner, Mr. Atkinson died about 1:30 p.m. after the tractor overturned, landing on top of him.
The coroner's office is investigating the case, but no autopsy was planned, Mr. Carlton said Tuesday.
Charles Atkinson said the incident had his family in shock.
"It doesn't seem real," he said.
Charles Atkinson said his dad once worked for Sibley Mill in the generator room.
He said his father retired about 20 years ago and had lived at the Clearwater home since the late 1940s.
"He was loved," the son said.
Reach Preston Sparks at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.
My heartfelt condolences to this family....................your in my prayers.
Condolences to the family. Didn't know him or his previously passed wife personally, but they were obviously some of the sweetest and friendliest people. They would always wave as I drove by every day. Going to miss seeing him out in his yard every day.
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