Abstract: At approximately 12:45 a.m. on January 31, 1992, Employee #1, an experienced tractor operator for Rudy Dell'Osso Farms, was starting a D6 Caterpillar tractor. He was alone. While he went through the steps to switch power from the gasoline pony engine to the diesel engine, the tractor was in gear, and the forward-reverse lever was in forward. In addition, the clutch lever was not totally disengaged. It appears that Employee #1 was squatting on one of the tractor's tracks instead of standing beside it as he reached across the track. The tractor abruptly moved forward, dropping Employee #1 in front of the track. The tractor ran over and killed Employee #1. There were no violations of safety orders.