A Florida man was seriously injured on Thursday, August 7, after he was struck in the head by a helicopter tail rotor blade.

The Vernon County Sheriff’s Department received a call shortly after 4 p.m. regarding a man who had been injured in a field, off Sherpe Road, one mile south of Westby. The accident occurred when Richard L. Miller of Edgewater, Florida accidently walked into the tail rotor blade of a crop dusting helicopter, after the chopper engine was shut down, but the tail rotor blades had not completely stopped rotating.

The chopper owned by Forest Air Inc., out of Florida, has been based in the area for the past few weeks after the company contracted with local agriculturual businesses to perform crop dusting services for area farmers.

Miller was transported by Tri-State Ambulance to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse. Assisting the sheriff’s department at the scene were members of the Westby First Responders, the Viroqua Fire Department and the Westby-Christiana Fire Department.

The accident remains under investigation.

An update on Miller’s condition was not available at press time.