'Lucky' man run over by combine

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BILLINGS, Mont., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Authorities in Montana said a man who took a nap in a cornfield is "lucky to be alive" after being run over by a combine tractor.

Yellowstone County sheriff's deputies said the man, whose name was not released, arrived in Billings via bus Wednesday and decided to take a nap in a cornfield while walking along a road, the Helena (Mont.) Independent Record reported Monday.

"He said that he stepped off the busy road and about three rows of corn into the field," sheriff's Lt. Kent O'Donnell said. "He said he didn't have intentions of sleeping, but fell asleep anyway."

"The farmer thought he had driven over a fence post or an irrigation pipe, but once he turned the machine off, he could hear a man screaming," O'Donnell said.

O'Donnell said the man's clothing was sucked into the combine's cutter and responders had to disconnect the equipment to free the man, who required stitches and may need skin grafts.

"For this situation, the man is incredibly lucky to be alive," O'Donnell said. "And that's about all you can say about that."