Golf Superintendent Daniel Crumrine ID’d In Fatal Lawn Mower Accident

SPRINGFIELD, IL. (THECOUNT) — Daniel Crumrine, the Golf Course Superintendent for the Springfield Park District, was killed Thursday morning in a workplace accident at Lincoln Greens Golf Course in Springfield, the state capital of Illinois and the seat of Sangamon County in central Illinois. Crumrine was found beneath a lawn tractor at the course’s maintenance building and was pronounced dead at the hospital less than an hour later. Crumrine was 51.

Springfield Park District Police Chief Patrick Murphy said the incident was reported at approximately 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the maintenance building of Lincoln Greens Golf Course. Crumrine was found underneath a lawn tractor and was transported by EMS to HSHS St. John’s Hospital. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon confirmed Crumrine was pronounced dead at 11:24 a.m., shortly after arriving at the emergency room. An autopsy conducted Friday confirmed the cause of death as crush injuries sustained in the incident.

Chief Murphy, who indicated he knew Crumrine personally, told reporters there is no reason to believe the death was anything other than a tragic accident. “It was a shocking piece of news — terrible and shocking,” Murphy said. The Springfield Park District Police and the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office are jointly investigating the incident. No additional details about how Crumrine came to be beneath the tractor have been released by authorities.

The Springfield Park District released a statement following Crumrine’s death: “We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred at Lincoln Greens Golf Course Thursday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”

Crumrine served as Golf Course Superintendent for the Springfield Park District, a role responsible for overseeing the maintenance and operations of the district’s golf course grounds. He held a Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. His Twitter profile identified him as a golf course superintendent with ties to the Illinois turfgrass and course management community, and he had been publicly affiliated with industry sponsorships and IHSA officiating recognition in prior years.

Lincoln Greens Golf Course is an 18-hole championship course operated by the Springfield Park District on the shores of Lake Springfield on the city’s south side. The course is one of four public golf facilities managed by the district, which also operates Bunn Golf Course, Bergen Golf Course, and Pasfield Golf Course. Lincoln Greens is among the most-played public courses in central Illinois and serves thousands of golfers annually from Springfield and surrounding communities.

The Springfield Park District is a municipal agency that provides recreational programs, parks, golf courses, a zoo, ice rinks, and a wide range of other public facilities for residents of the Springfield metro area. The district employs certified PGA and LPGA professionals at its golf facilities and maintains a full-time grounds and maintenance workforce across its properties. Crumrine was a longtime member of that workforce in a senior leadership capacity.

Springfield is home to approximately 114,000 residents and serves as the political and governmental center of Illinois. The city is located roughly 200 miles south of Chicago and 100 miles north of St. Louis along Interstate 55. HSHS St. John’s Hospital, where Crumrine was pronounced dead, is one of two major acute care hospitals serving Springfield and the broader Sangamon County region. The Illinois Department of Labor’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health may conduct a separate review of the workplace circumstances surrounding the incident, though no such investigation has been publicly announced at this time.

No funeral arrangements for Daniel Crumrine have been announced. The investigation by the Springfield Park District Police and the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office remains ongoing.

DEVELOPING::