WHITE CO., Ill. - What appears to be an accidental farming death has claimed the life of a rural White County man, reports White County Sheriff Doug Maier.
Maier said that at approximately 1:04 p.m. Saturday, November 24, Mike Spaetti called sheriff's dispatch to report that he'd gone to check on his brother, James Spaetti, and found him underneath the head of a combine. Mike Spaetti told dispatch that he believed his brother to be deceased, but could not get to his neck to check for a pulse.
Deputy Scott Cantrell and White County EMS were dispatched to the scene; upon arrival, White County EMS director Adam Allen confirmed that James Spaetti was indeed deceased. White County Coroner Chris Marsh was dispatched to the scene. In the meantime, Cantrell learned from Mike Spaetti that Mike had not seen his brother since the afternoon before (Friday). He stated that he hadn't felt well on Friday, and had stayed in his house. However, he went over to his brother's house on Saturday (the two residences being side-by-side) and found James pinned under the combine head. The incident happened behind James' house in front of the machine shed.
The sheriff's report indicates that apparently, James had been working on the combine head because there were hydraulic jacks and wooden blocks under it. It appeared the head had become unlatched from the combine mount while James was under the front of the head. The coroner, upon investigation, surmised that James Spaetti died from blunt force trauma to the head and back.