Ferndale resident dies in tractor accident before Blaine parade

Ferndale resident and dairy farmer Don McKay died while preparing for Blaine’s Fourth of July parade, Whatcom County medical examiner Gary Goldfogel said.

McKay was unloading an antique tractor from a trailer just before 9 a.m., when the tractor came off the trailer and ran him over, injuring his chest and abdomen. He was planning to ride the tractor in the parade.

He was transported to PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Bellingham, where he died in the emergency room, Goldfogel said. McKay was 74, and in good health before the accident.