A 73-year-old Carleton man died yesterday after the zero-turn lawn mower he was riding lost control on a steep grass shoulder and flipped into a ditch, trapping him underneath. David W. Flood was pronounced dead at the scene along West Labo Road east of Woodslee Drive in Ash Township, according to deputies who responded to the crash.
The crash was reported at about 6:19 p.m. yesterday, according to the CBS Detroit report on the incident. Flood was operating an orange and black Scag Freedom Z 48-inch zero-turn mower while traveling eastbound on the grass shoulder along a steep incline when he lost control, and the machine overturned into a ditch, pinning him beneath it. Investigators with the Toledo Blade confirmed that alcohol was not a factor in the rollover, and deputies also determined that Flood was not wearing a safety belt when the mower lost control and overturned.
Investigators Comb Crash Site For Answers
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office assigned the fatal crash investigation to Traffic Services Division Lieutenant Brian Quinn, Sergeant Cody Carena, and Deputy Sheriff Hunter Chirillo, per the same account. Deputies are continuing to look into environmental and mechanical factors that may have contributed to the rollover, though the exact trigger for Flood's sudden loss of control remains under investigation. The crash remains under investigation, with no additional findings yet released publicly.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene to assist, including the Ash Township Volunteer Fire Department and Monroe Community Ambulance. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office Chaplain Program and its Victim Services Unit also assisted at the site, offering support in the aftermath of the fatality.
Why Seat Belts Matter on Rollover-Equipped Mowers
The absence of a buckled seat belt is a detail investigators specifically flagged, and national safety authorities say it's a critical one. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration notes that Rollover Protective Structures, the roll bars built into many riding mowers, only work to prevent crushing injuries when paired with a seat belt; an unbuckled operator can be thrown from the seat during a flip and crushed beneath the machine.
Scag Power Equipment's own safety guidelines specify that zero-turn mowers like the Freedom Z should never be operated on slopes exceeding 15 degrees, since steep inclines and ditch embankments sharply increase rollover risk. The danger isn't theoretical: an OSHA safety investigation documented an August 2024 fatal incident in which a 42-year-old operator was killed when a 1,350-pound Scag commercial zero-turn mower overturned on a 16-to-26-degree slope with its rollover bar unengaged.
The weight involved makes these rollovers especially deadly. Analysis from the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center found that residential riding mowers average around 485 pounds, while larger zero-turn models routinely weigh between 800 and 1,300 pounds, creating severe crushing hazards when they flip onto an operator. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that riding lawn mowers cause roughly 35,000 emergency department injuries and 70 to 90 deaths nationwide each year, with tip-overs cited as a primary fatal crash mechanism.
Guidance for Mowing Near Roadside Ditches
The National Association of Landscape Professionals advises riding mower operators to keep a buffer zone of at least two mower widths away from drop-offs, retaining walls, and steep ditches, since roadside shoulders often hide soft soil or moisture that can reduce wheel traction. Flood's mower was traveling along just such a grass shoulder before it lost control and rolled.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information about the crash to contact its Traffic Services Division at 734-240-7725 or Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 800-SPEAK-UP.
The fatality adds to a string of serious mower-related incidents Hoodline has covered in recent months, including a 4-year-old airlifted in Swanville Township after a mower accident last month. Ash Township sits in the same Monroe County jurisdiction where deputies also investigated the November 2025 death of a 15-year-old Carleton resident struck by an SUV on Telegraph Road, a case that similarly fell to the sheriff's office to piece together.
