By David Howell

A help fund has been established and a blood drive has been planned for a Como teenager who was severely injured in a tractor accident Monday morning.

Drew Bouchillon, 17, was clipping a pasture east of Como, about three-quarters of a mile north of Hwy. 310 on Rooks Road, when the tractor he was driving hit a cistern and the driver was thrown off the tractor, according to Como Fire Chief Randy Perkins.

The injured teen is the son of Andy Bouchillon and Jackie Tutor.

He is currently in critical condition at the Regional Medical Center, more commonly known as The Med, in Memphis.

A blood drive has been planned for July 7 in Senatobia in the parking lot of Guaranty Bank. The drive will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Lifeblood, the Mid-south’s regional blood bank based in Memphis, will host the blood drive.

All blood types are needed and a form to participate in the blood drive will be available on-line at Magnolia Heights’ Web site, www.magnoliaheights.com.

Bouchillon is a student at the Senatobia school.

The school Web site is also being utilized to give updates on Bouchillon’s condition.

Perkins credited quick, professional medical help as one the key factors in saving Bouchillon’s life after he was cut by the clipper’s blades.

Perkins also pointed to the alert crew on a Panola County garbage truck for noticing the accident while working their route.

After hitting an almost three-foot cistern hole, Perkins said, Bouchillon was apparently ejected out the back window of the John Deere tractor cab. The impact was strong enough to break the seat, but the tractor kept going, according to Perkins.

The alert crew on the garbage truck included driver Ricky Armstrong and workers Derek Joslin and Terry Potts.

“One of the guys on the truck thought he saw something when we passed by the first time,” Ricky Armstrong, said Wednesday.

A few minutes later, Armstrong said they came back up the road and saw the tractor on the hill, going in circles without a driver.

“He raised up one arm and waved at us,” Armstrong said.

Bouchillon was lying about 60 yards off the road but was hard to see because of the tall grass. Armstrong said they all got out of the truck and ran to Bouchillon.

An conscious and alert Bouchillon told his rescuers he had been lying there about 30 minutes.

“He told us his pickup was down the road and he asked us to get on the ground and pray with him,” a still-shaken Armstrong reported.

The situation became hairy when the tractor, which was still circling without a driver, started heading back toward Bouchillon.

“We didn’t have time to think,” Armstrong said, explaining that two of the men were able to run and catch and stop the tractor.

Armstrong said he notified emergency officials and advised them to send an ambulance and the helicopter.

Ambulance Arrives

“The Med-Stat guys did a great job; they kept him alive,” Perkins said.

Perkins had arrived on the scene just moments after the ambulance arrived.

“One of our firefighters called me,” Perkins said, adding that the Air Evac helicopter ambulance was quickly summoned and landed approximately 30 minutes after the accident.

“They are also very professional,” Perkins said of the medical flight nurses on the helicopter who went to work to stabilize Bouchillon for the flight.

The teen was airlifted to The Med where he has undergone several surgeries, including amputation of both legs.

An account has been established at Guaranty Bank for his benefit with deposits being accepted at the Senatobia, Hernando and Batesville branches.