Woman dies following tractor accident

BARRINGTON--The Yates County Sheriff's Department reported Anna Marie Martin, 52, of 4070 Fred Taylor Road in Penn Yan died following injuries suffered during a tractor accident Sunday, Aug. 30. Martin died at Strong Memorial Hospital after being airlifted there following the incident.
The accident occurred at 2:47 p.m. Sunday on Sturdevent Road in the town of Barrington near State Route 54. A 1966 John Deere 3020 farm tractor pulling a metal framed and decked hay wagon with several Mennonites riding on it -- with some sitting on hay bales -- for an afternoon rural countryside ride lost control on the steep hill of a newly paved asphalt roadway. The steel wheeled tractor lost its foothold, and the weight of the trailer caused it to jack-knife and went off the road into a ditch and broke apart. The wagon came unhitched and continued down the hill with some passengers jumping off. It went into the same ditch, stopping and ejecting others aboard. Several injuries incurred.
The farm tractor operator Elam Martin, 25, of 4076 Fred Taylor Road in Penn Yan, has been released from the hospital. Anna Marie was his aunt.
Elam was charged Monday, Sept. 7 with appearance tickets for:
• Unlicensed operator.
• Speed not reasonable and prudent due to special hazards and existing legal conditions.
• Equipment violations, especially inadequate and no trailer brakes.
• Operating vehicle on pavement with metal wheel lugs protruding.
He will appear in the town of Barrington court Wednesday, Sept. 16, to answer the vehicle and traffic charges.
"Once the farm tractor and trailer were no longer being used for agriculture purposes, he made it a motor vehicle unit," said Sheriff Ron Spike. "Several vehicle and traffic law violations then exist on its operation on a public highway."
The matter is being reviewed by the district attorney's office for any criminal charges, if applicable.