Elderly Man Killed Following Excavator Accident; Sheriff Investigating

FRUITLAND, Md. – The Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an industrial accident that killed an 81-year-old man on Tuesday.

Police say Paul Jones was operating an excavator on the property before unknown circumstances caused it to become submerged in a 40-foot-pond.

At 12:04 p.m. on Dec. 9, deputies responded to 700 Slab Ridge Road after the property owner called authorities. He contacted police after noticing Jones’s vehicle parked on the premises and was unable to locate him. The property owner says he did not know Jones was working on the grounds that afternoon.

A preliminary search of the grounds did not reveal Jones’s whereabouts. When the excavator was discovered in the pond, members of the Salisbury Fire Department Dive Team were requested to respond and conduct an underwater search.

Jones was subsequently located inside the submerged excavator. He was transported by air to Shock Trauma, where he was later pronounced deceased.

At this time, police say it is unknown how the excavator entered the pond, or the circumstances leading to the incident. An investigation remains active and ongoing.