Teenager’s legs mutilated up to the knee by ruthless auger

Summary: A teenager died alone at the bottom of a grain bin after an unsparing auger shredded both his legs.

The incident: When Landon Gran, 18, was offered a job at a farm owned by Richard Gaalswyk in St. Peter, MN, he didn’t hesitate to take the position. After all, the high school student was hoping to carve out a career in the farming industry, and this was a great way to get started.

Assigned to remove corn that had accumulated on the side of a grain bin, Gran climbed into the bin and began to sweep the corn into the auger at the bottom of the bin. Meanwhile, Gaalswyk left the farm to make a delivery, so Gran was working by himself.

With his headphones blasting music, Gran was sweeping up the corn when his loose-fitting jeans suddenly became entangled in the rotating auger.

As Gran was being pulled into the ruthless machine, he cried out for help, but no one was there to hear him.

Gran was in agony as his legs were being ripped apart by the blades. Finally, his body slammed into a bracket and he got stuck, but the auger continued to rip apart his legs.

The response: When Gaalswyk returned to the farm, he heard the auger still running, so he went to the bin to investigate. He turned away in horror at what he saw: Both of Gran’s legs had been mutilated up to the knee.

The teenager was quickly declared dead due to his massive blood loss.

The aftermath: Since the death of her son, Michele Gran has worked hard to get safety laws passed to regulate family farms.

“Losing a child is a parent’s biggest nightmare, and here I am living it,” said Michele. “It’s pretty hard to get through the day. I don’t want anyone else to go through this.”

(From the June 8, 2020, issue of Safety Alert for Supervisors. To download the rest of the issue for free, please click here.)