Tractor pulling hayride flips, leaving several injured, teen driver in critical condition
Over a dozen children and teens were ejected from a wagon after a tractor overturned while traveling downhill at a high rate of speed during a hayride in upstate New York, authorities said.
The 16-year-old driver of the tractor remains in critical condition a day after the accident, authorities said Monday.
The incident occurred Sunday afternoon during a German Baptist youth group gathering in Wellsburg, according to the Chemung County Sheriff's Office.
Over 20 people between the ages of 4 and 19 initially went on the hayride, during which "passengers noted that the brakes began to smoke, and the driver seemed to be struggling with some mechanical issues," the sheriff's office said in a statement on Monday.
Five of the passengers proceeded to jump off the wagon, and the hayride continued for approximately 1.6 miles before the accident occurred at an intersection, the sheriff's office said.
The tractor failed to stop at a stop sign, then rolled over multiple times after the driver turned the wheel to the right, according to the sheriff's office.
The 15 people who remained in the wagon were all ejected, while the driver was pinned underneath the tractor and dragged several yards, the sheriff's office said. The tractor came to a stop after striking a tree, at which point the driver was no longer pinned, it said.
Eleven people, including the driver, were transported to area hospitals, authorities said. Most had abrasions and small cuts, and all but the driver have since been treated and released, authorities said Monday during a press briefing. The driver was the most seriously injured and remains hospitalized Monday in critical condition, authorities said.
The sheriff's office released a recording of home surveillance video of the accident, which Chemung County Sheriff William Schrom said helps show "how fast that was coming down the hill into that intersection."
"The body camera footage just depicts unfortunately a lot of young children screaming and crying, which is heartbreaking to watch and hear, so we chose not to play that," Schrom said during the press briefing.
Authorities are working to determine how fast the tractor was traveling when the accident occurred, though Schrom said it was "moving at a pretty good clip." Investigators said it appears there was a brake failure.
No other vehicles or civilians were involved in the incident, the sheriff said, noting that three cars had just passed through the intersection before the tractor came barreling through it.
"It's just amazing that no other persons were involved," he said.
