2 children dead after accidents at separate Halloween haunted hayride events
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJW/NEXSTAR) – Two children have died following two separate accidents at Halloween hayride events in Tennessee and Minnesota, authorities announced days apart.
Deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee responded to the Haunted Hilltop Halloween event in Harrison on Friday night after it was reported that a child was hit by a tractor.
The sheriff's office, in a Facebook post, said a chaperone at the event had explained to deputies that a group of juveniles were playing near a hay ride tractor route, hiding "behind some bushes trying to scare some hay riders."
Deputies were told that one of the kids tried to jump onto the trailer, but had possibly slipped before falling underneath the wheels, where the child was found unresponsive.
"Sadly, the juvenile succumbed to their injuries and was pronounced deceased on the scene," the sheriff's office said.
The child's age was not made public by the sheriff's office, but the Chattanooga Times Free Press identified the victim as a 12-year-old male.
The sheriff's office extended its sympathies to the child's family "as well as the others who witnessed the tragic event,” the Facebook post said. “We ask the community also keep this family in their prayers during this difficult time.”
During a separate haunted hayride event in Minnesota on Saturday evening, a 13-year-old boy suffered nearly the same injury at the Harvest of Horror Haunted Hayride in St. Augusta, the local sheriff's office said in a bulletin issued Monday.
"The initial caller reported that a young male had been injured when he was run over by a trolley wagon being pulled by a tractor," the Stearns County Sheriff's Office said.
Several local emergency agencies, as well as an off-duty officer and off-duty medic, had attempted to revive the boy, but he, too, was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, according to the bulletin.
The accident is currently under investigation.
Haunted Hilltop, in Tennessee, temporarily closed in the wake of the child's death. They also posted an update on Saturday, saying, “Please give this family and the Hilltop family time to Grieve and get through this Horrible Accident.”
The organizers of St. Augusta's Harvest of Horror, meanwhile, have canceled all remaining events, per a message posted to the official Harvest of Horror site.
"We are cooperating fully with the authorities and are grateful for their support," reads the message, in part. "We are deeply shaken by this event and are asking for thoughts, prayers and support for the family and friends of the individual involved and all those affected by this tragedy."