Tractor Pulling Hayride Crashes, Injuring 14 Including 3 Critically in Upstate New York
A tractor pulling a hayride carrying mostly children overturned during a youth outing in Wellsburg, New York, resulting in multiple injuries.
An out-of-control tractor pulling a hayride flipped and crashed at a weekly youth outing in upstate New York Sunday, injuring 14 people, including three who are in critical condition, according to authorities.
The incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. in Wellsburg, a village located just across the Pennsylvania border. The John Deere tractor was reportedly pulling a hay wagon down Comfort Hill Road toward Berwick Turnpike when the driver attempted to make a turn at an intersection too quickly, causing the tractor to lose control. It swerved and overturned, disconnecting from the wagon and ejecting all 19 occupants.
Of the 14 injured, one person was airlifted to a hospital, and at least five others were transported by ambulance to Robert Packer Hospital. An additional eight individuals sought medical attention through private means. Three of the injured are currently in critical condition.
Witnesses indicated that most of the riders on the hay wagon were children. The group participating in the outing were identified as German Baptists, followers of an Anabaptist religious sect, who were attending a youth gathering at the time of the crash.
An investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.