St. Bernard Parish man dies in tractor accident

A St. Bernard Parish man was killed in what appears to be an accident involving a tractor he was attempting to load on a boat in the Violet Canal, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Eddie Beloso, 67, in St. Bernard community, was pronounced dead at the scene after Sheriff’s Office detectives and members of the Marine Division retrieved Beloso’s body and the tractor from the bayou.

Just after 11 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, Sheriff Pohlmann said, St. Bernard deputies responded to a call about an overturned tractor in the Violet Canal off Packenham Road in Violet. When deputies arrived on the scene they were met by a witness who said he was there looking for his friend when he noticed his tractor upside down in the canal.

For reasons still under investigation, the tractor appeared to run off the road and into the bayou while Beloso was operating it. Footage from a nearby business surveillance system shows Beloso driving the tractor as it was submerged in the canal, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

According to Beloso’s wife, who last heard from him around 4 p.m., Beloso had gone to the location to load the tractor on a boat for transport to a local hunting camp. When she had not heard from him in a reasonable amount of time, she summoned a friend to go check on him.