SANTA ROSA (KRON)-- A tractor driver is recovering after hitting a tree Tuesday morning on the shoulder of state Highway 128.

Officials say 58-year-old Cornelio Cardenas was driving his 1996 John Deere tractor while spraying pesticides on vineyards near Geyserville around 8 a.m. when he became distracted while either reaching for or adjusting his ventilator mask.

CHP officer Jonathan Sloat says Cardenas, who was not strapped in, was thrown from the vehicle. He was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital to undergo surgery for a broken left femur and internal injuries.

While no pesticides were released during the crash, one-way traffic control was in effect for an hour due to the accident.

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