NORTHPORT — On the evening of July 19, 2022 at approximately 7 p.m., the Waldo County Dispatch Center received a 911 call reporting that a tractor had gone off the roadway and rolled over on Atlantic Highway in the Town of Northport.

Members of the Northport Fire Department and Deputies from the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office responded.

 Once on scene Deputies began investigating and learned that Scotty Richards, 62, of Northport, had been operating a Michigan 55A Loader Northbound on Atlantic Highway.

Witnesses observed the loader rolling backwards down the roadway before it left the side of the road and rolled over into the ditch. Richards was ejected from the loader and died as a result of his injuries, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Department.

A portion of the road was closed while multiple wrecker companies assisted first responders with clearing the scene. The specific cause of the accident remains under investigation.