by Matt Hughes
J-E News Editor
When Darren Hayes set out to ride his John Deere model 60 tractor from Chiefland, Florida to New Buffalo, Michigan, his route did not take him through Providence, Kentucky. But that was exactly where he was on Thursday morning, when he came to buy one of the antique John Deeres owned by Webster County Jailer Terry Elder.
The story does not start in Providence, however. It didn’t even start in Florida. It started earlier this year when Darren’s friend Matt Tassillo was diagnosed with with two inoperable brain tumors. This is the second blow for a family that lost a daughter a year ago to the same issue.
Instead of just giving his condolences, Darren Hayes decided he would do something unique. He planned to spend three weeks making the journey on the back of his John Deere.
Why make the trip by tractor?
“Because you don’t notice someone walking down the street or driving down the street in a normal car,” Hayes said on his website, trackthetractor.com. “However, you will surely notice a huge bright green John Deere rolling down the street in front of you! The John Deere is probably the only type of tractor tough enough to make a journey like this and in such green and yellow style.”
His only companion on the trip is the flatbed trailer hooked to the back of his tractor. Hayes’ plan is to pull into as many busy parking lots along the way, break out his guitar and start putting on a show, all in the name of bringing awarness to his cause.
“I’ve been making about 70 miles a day,” Hayes said on Thursday. “Thats being on the road nine or ten hours every day, because this thing can only go about eight miles per hour.”
Hayes made it as far as Georgia before things took a sudden and unexpected turn. He was northbound, traveling with all of the safety markers and flashing lights required by law, when he was struck from behind by someone who was texting and driving. He escaped unharmed, but the tractor and trailer were both total losses.
But the accident itself may prove to be a blessing in disguise. Hayes said the Gerogia State Trooper who responded to the accident said that they were going to use video of the crash to bring attention to the issue of texting and driving.
Less than a week into his journey and Hayes found himself stranded in Georgia with no tractor and no ride.
That’s when he got word that Elder was looking to sell one of his John Deere. Hayes’ brother, Dennis Hayes, drove from northern Indiana to transport Darren to Providence, where they loaded Elder’s tractor on a new trailer. From there they traveled to Nashville, where Darren resumed his travels Sunday morning, after spending the weekend taking the tractor to various sites around Music City.
“When I get to Michigan we’re going to auction the tractor off,” Hayes said. “The money will go to the Riley’s Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House.”
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