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Traficant is reportedly in "very critical condition." (CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Traficant is reportedly in "very critical condition." (CQ Roll Call File Photo)


Update, Saturday 2:32 p.m. | Traficant has died, a family spokesperson says. 
   

Former Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, was seriously injured in a tractor accident in Greenford, Ohio, Tuesday night.  

Traficant’s wife Trish told The Vindicator Wednesday morning the former congressman is in “very critical condition” and was “sedated and he’s not doing well.”  

According to a press release from Wade Branson, chief of the Goshen Police Department, police and emergency vehicles responded to a “private property crash” at 7:50 p.m. Tuesday night.  

The ex-congressman was reportedly driving a tractor into the barn at his daughter’s farm in Greenford when the accident occurred. According to police, Traficant “lost control of a 1943 Ford tractor, struck a large steel blade on the front of the tractor, causing it to roll over on top of him.”  

Emergency responders found Traficant, 73, trapped underneath the tractor and transported him to Salem Hospital. He then was flown to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown.  

St. Elizabeth’s is not releasing information about Traficant’s status, but the police statement noted he is in “critical condition.”  

Traficant was expelled from the House in 2002 and was convicted on 10 counts of corruption. He served seven years in prison and was released in September 2009.  A year later, Traficant made an unsuccessful attempt to return to Congress.

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