Former teacher speaks out after Dothan man dies in farm accident

HOUSTON COUNTY, Alabama (WDHN) – Cottonwood resident Boris Melton said his former student Weston Lewis could have done great things in the future.

But sadly, Lewis died doing “what he loved.”

On Thursday, June 13, Dothan police and other local emergency services responded to a 911 call reporting a man trapped under a tractor on Forrester Road near Bethel Baptist Church in Houston County.

When they arrived, they found Lewis’ body, but not trapped under a tractor.

Officials believe the 20-year-old Dothan native was working with a baler attached to a tractor.

Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd believes that while Lewis was working inside the baler, the machine’s hydraulic doors closed around his chest, neck and shoulders, cutting off his air supply and preventing him from breathing.

Melton and Lewis met last September when Lewis enrolled as a student at Melton’s Believe Truck Driving Academy.

After hearing the news of Lewis’ death, Melton said he was confused and heartbroken.

“It was very, very heartbreaking and sad to see a child of this caliber with so many big dreams suffer such an accident,” Melton said.

Melton said that Lewis, just like his own son, was known for making everyone at the academy laugh, and that while working and training at the academy, Lewis just knew how to work fast.

“When he came along, he was kind of a recreational driver,” Melton said. “That’s the guy who accelerates, drives and shifts,” Melton said. “He quickly became a professional driver when he realized that driving fast and changing gears would be difficult for him.”

According to Melton, the entire academy was shocked when news of Lewis’ death came.

At this time, the official cause of death has not been determined and the case remains under investigation by the Dothan Police Department’s Accident/Traffic Unit.