Abstract: At approximately 7:55 a.m. on October 29, 1997, Employee #1, a tractor driver for Opal Fry and Son, was operating a John Deere 4450 tractor with an Interstate cotton stalk cutter attached. He was in the process of cutting down cotton stalks when the stalk cutter became plugged. Employee #1 left the seat of the tractor and walked back to the stalk cutter with the equipment running and used his right hand to dislodge stalks from the rollers. His hand was caught by the rollers and his hand and arm were pulled through the rollers into the cutting knives. Employee #1's right arm past the elbow was amputated, and he was taken to Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield.