Linn sheriff’s office IDs teen killed in mowing accident between Cedar Rapids and Fairfax

CEDAR RAPIDS - The boy killed Monday when a lawn mower rolled on top of him has been identified as 17-year-old Alexander W. Prochaska of Cedar Rapids, the Linn County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

According to the news release, Prochaska was mowing at a relative's house in the 5600 block of East Cemetery Road, between Cedar Rapids and Fairfax, when the lawn mower overturned in a ditch, pinning him under the mower.

Emergency personnel responded at 8:19 p.m. Monday, and Prochaska was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff's office said.

According to his obituary, Prochaska had two sisters and was a rising junior at Marion Independent High School.

A native of Cedar Rapids, the obituary states Prochaska enjoyed working on his grandparents' farm and in their greenhouses. He was also employed at a McDonald's in Marion and was saving money to restore his grandfather's old truck.

The teen is described in the obituary as vintage-truck enthusiast who loved woodworking and was learning how to play the guitar. He was also active in two church youth groups.

'He loved to make people smile,” the obituary reads. 'He wore funny T-shirts every day to encourage laughter. … (He) was a special young man and will be missed deeply by his family and friends.”

Prochaska's funeral will be 11 a.m. Friday at First Church of Nazarene in Cedar Rapids. Visitation will be 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Teahen Funeral Home.

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