New York hayride crash: 10 injured
WELLSBURG, N.Y. —
Nearly a dozen people were injured, including one critically, after a tractor rolled over during a hayride in New York near the Pennsylvania border.
The incident happened in Wellsburg, New York, on Sunday afternoon, according to the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office.
It started when “the 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 social media post.
The tractor continued for about another 1.5 miles before the crash happened. In the seconds leading up to the incident, the 16-year-old driver can be seen in a video passing a stop sign and turning right, causing the hayride to flip.
“The tractor rolled over multiple times, pinning the driver underneath and dragging him several yards before striking a tree and coming to a stop,” the sheriff’s office said. “The driver was not pinned under the tractor upon stopping.”
All 21 people who were on the hayride were part of a youth group gathering after Sunday church services of the German Baptist Community and were ages 4 to 19. Several had jumped off the ride before the crash, the sheriff’s office said.
In all, 10 people were treated for various injuries, while the teen driver remained hospitalized in critical condition as of Monday.
It appears that a brake issue caused the crash, although the investigation is ongoing.
“Looking at the right side of the brake, it appeared to be discolored, definitely overheated from going down the hill,” Investigator Dalton Lawson told WENY.
