Three fighting for their lives after out-of-control hayride tractor carrying children flips over in New York
At least three people have been left critically injured after being flung from a flipped-over hayride in New York.
The tractor had been towing a hay wagon carrying 19 people – many of them children – when it careened off at a junction and overturned, according to officials.
Emergency services raced to the scene of the horror crash at 4.30pm in Wellsburg on Sunday.
The tractor had been speeding towards the intersection, according to Chemung County Sheriff Bill Shrom.
While trying to turn right the driver spun the wheel causing the tractor to roll over and detach from the wagon.
The wagon continued to speed along the road with terrified riders still onboard until it crashed – throwing out its passengers.
The driver was trapped beneath the tractor and dragged around 150ft before smashing into a tree, reported WETM.
Shrom said 14 people had been injured in the terrifying crash with 13 being rushed to hospital.
Three are believed to be in critical condition, reported Rochester First and one person was airlifted to hospital.
A probe has been launched into the collision – with Shrom telling officials that one of the tractor breaks was broken.
The county sheriff said: “We do know at least one of the brakes on one of the sides of the tractor was significantly burnt up.”
He added that the tractor had been towing a hayride of churchgoers of a German Baptist community which meets every Sunday.
Shrom said they had an “afternoon youth gathering” after church services.
He added: “Several of the members were on their way down the hill and were going to do a loop to go back where they started from, and, of course, they lost control coming down the hill.”
It is unclear how many of the injured were children but witnesses said the tractor had been towing a wagon packed with kids.
One Wellsburg resident Jeremy Brent told the Times he became concerned after seeing a helicopter swoop to the rescue.
In an email to the outlet, he wrote: “Most of them were kids and their belongings were all over the driveway.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”
