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By Blake Deshazo
The Selma Times-Journal 

A Lowndes County man was killed Thursday after a tragic farming accident involving a tractor grader.

According to Lowndes County Coroner Cassandra Smith, 72-year-old Allen Wood Spivey was pronounced dead when emergency responders arrived on the scene.

The accident happened between 9-10 a.m. on Double Church Road in Tyler, near the Lowndes and Dallas county line, according to Sgt. Mark Green with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.

“He was grading for a road to go next to his residence, and it was soft ground that sits up on a hill,” Green said. “It appeared that the ground had given away on the hillside where he was grading.”

Green said Spivey was in the process of grading a road next to his farm when his tractor overturned on him.

“He was on his farm grading his land. It appeared that he was building a road through the side of his property, which sits up on top of a hill,” Green said. “It appears the soft ground gave away next to the hillside, and the grader started to go over the cliff area.”

Green said investigators believe the grader started to fall off the hill, causing Spivey to jump off of it.

“He tried to dismount the grader when it was going off, and when he did, apparently he got stuck, and he ended up underneath the grader itself.”

The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and Care Ambulance responded to the scene.

According to Green, when deputies arrived on scene, they found Spivey underneath the grader.

Funeral arrangements were released Thursday afternoon from Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home.

Spivey’s funeral service was held Saturday at  the family home on 2944 Double Church Rd. in Tyler.