DeKalb County authorities have identified the man who was killed Monday when a tractor rolled over on him at the Smoke Rise Country Club.

Robert A. Rust, 29, of Snellville, was a groundskeeper on the golf course and was driving a tractor when it turned over around 2:30 p.m.

“It appears that he was operating a tractor with a grass blower attached to the back,” DeKalb fire spokesman Capt. Eric Jackson said Monday. “It is believed he was coming down a hill when the tractor turned over.”

There were no witnesses to the accident, but Rust was discovered by other groundskeepers, Jackson said.

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Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com