This is how my Christmas weekend started...

That prompted a phone call from my mother. "Toyman, we have a Problem." Yes, she said it with a capitol P. "You dad has rolled the dump truck off the dike and into the creek."

He was dumping dirt on top of the dike to repair the areas that Hurricane Irene topped it. It looks like he got the truck a little too close to the edge and it collapsed, rolling the truck into the creek. 

That's a all hands on deck accident for us. My brother stopped and picked up 100' of oil boom and box oil absorbent mats,  I got a boat overboard to deploy the boom, a neighboring farmer brought in his track hoe, and after a couple of hours, we had it back on the hill and right side up. 

Needless to say it was a little exciting. At 77, my father isn't exactly a spring chicken, but he was able to ride it down without getting injured or even sore. He did say it took some time to figure out which side was up. We even managed to get all the engine oil captured and out of the creek. It made for a long Friday afternoon. 

Wow. I'm glad that he didn't get hurt.

Really glad your Dad is OK. 

Beyond that, isn't it always nice to be reminded how much you can count on family and friends to be all hands on deck when the chips are down?

Wow. Handled like pros. 

Whew.  I thought that was Sanford there for a second.  Glad your pops is OK.

Good for you for helping. My family is the same way but I know many that aren't. Good that he was ok. Good that the mess was able to be cleaned up. 

Wow.  Definitely one of the hazards of being so independent at his age, but then it could have happened to anyone - glad he is ok!!!

Yikes! Glad he's okay. How bad is the damage? Any photos of the topside once it was back on all six?

In reply to Woody :

Big Red still lives. Luckily the engine, transmission and rear end stayed dry. It was a little muddy, bent up the top of the cab, broke the windshield, broke up the passenger front fender, and half the cab filled with salt water. It was full of dirt when it went off the edge, and that load stopped it from rolling all the way into the water. The next day, we got the mud washed off, added oil, repaired a coolant line that got damaged, and pulled it off with the backhoe, it hasn't had a battery in a long time. It fired the first time it crossed TDC. We were hauling dirt with it that day. Honestly since we actually washed it, it's as clean as it has been in a long time. 

This truck hasn't seen the highway in 20 years. It's strictly used on the farm to haul dirt to repair the roads so, we don't really care about the cab, fender, or the windshield. It literally sits for years at a time.

I didn't take any after pictures for some reason, but I'll try to shoot some the next time I'm down there. 

Fate is a strange thing. Or is it chance? Either way, imagine just a LITTLE change in one variable or another and the truck is upside down and submerged in the water.

A very good outcome considering how things could’ve been much worse.

I did shoot some video of the recovery. It's long and kind of boring. I'm the fat guy sitting on the tractor.

Good job keeping the tractor out of the creek! Glad Dad made it out with nothing worse than a story to tell.

...And hydraulic power is pretty amazing.

Wow, glad this ended so well.

That makes me really uncomfortable. I have a driveway across a dam that looks exactly like that. I am always scared that could happen. 

Glad everyone is ok!

Glad everything turned out relatively well.  Please tell me you guys bought him a last-minute Xmas gift, like a "Student Driver" decal or something?

In reply to Jerry :

I'm going to pick up a couple of "No Parking" signs for the edges of the dike. 

An excavator with a thumb is just about the most useful piece of equipment one can have who owns land.  Good lord are they ever expensive though.

On the bright side, at least you weren't having to do the same thing in sub-freezing temps.  Even a miserable situation is a little less miserable when you can feel your fingers.  

Wow, glad he got out of that alright.

I drove a dump for years, Got close to flipping one once, Bed at the Top of the Mast, soft dirt,  everything was just right for disaster,I am very happy for you all, Another Tale to Tell.... 

Wow, yeah, glad that all are okay.