A hayride turned dangerous in upstate New York on Sunday when a tractor overturned during a weekly youth gathering, leaving three people in critical condition and more than a dozen others injured, authorities and local news outlets reported.
The wagon was carrying 19 passengers, most of them believed to be children, when it rolled while turning at about 4:30 p.m. in Wellsburg, a small village near the Pennsylvania border, according to WENY.
Chemung County Sheriff Bill Schrom said the John Deere tractor was towing the wagon along Comfort Hill Road toward Berwick Turnpike when it approached an intersection too quickly and attempted to turn.
The tractor apparently lost control as it approached the intersection. The driver swerved right, causing the tractor to overturn and the wagon to break free, ejecting all of its passengers, Schrom told The New York Times.
At least 14 people suffered injuries, Schrom said. One person was flown to a hospital, while at least five others were taken by ambulance to Robert Packer Hospital. Eight additional passengers reached the hospital by private transportation.
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Three of those injured were reported to be in critical condition, RochesterFirst reported.
Officials have not said exactly how many children were hurt, though witnesses indicated that most of the hayride participants were young people.
The passengers were members of the German Baptist community, a religious Anabaptist group that had organized a youth gathering on the day of the crash, according to RochesterFirst.
The investigation remains active as authorities work to determine precisely what caused the tractor and wagon to overturn.
