Two children in the United States have died in separate hayride tractor accidents in Minnesota and Tennessee, according to police reports.
The first boy died at about 10:45 p.m. on Oct. 11. The boy was "struck by a tractor" at the Haunted Hilltop Halloween event in Tennessee.
Per a press release, authorities for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department said the victim was playing with a group of children near the route of the hayride tractor event and were attempting to scare the riders.
One of the children appeared to have tried jumping on the trailer but slipped and fell under the tractor's wheels. Police officers said the boy died at the scene.
"The HCSO family extends our thoughts and sympathy to the family of the deceased juvenile, as well as the others who witnessed the tragic event," officials said in a press release.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press identified the victim of the Hilltop incident as 12-year-old Samuel Jessen.
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Similar Tractor Accident in Minnesota
On Oct. 12, just before 8 p.m., a 13-year-old boy also died after being run over by a wagon that was pulled by a tractor at the Harvest of Horror Haunted Hayride attraction in Minnesota. A statement from the Stearns County Sheriff's Office said staffers and bystanders at the event, including an off-duty police officer and off-duty medic, immediately provided emergency care for the child.
All efforts to save the boy failed. He died at the scene. The victim was identified as 13-year-old Alexander Mick, described as "full of life" by his mother. He was also said to be a junior black belter in taekwondo.
Organizers of the 2024 Harvest of Horror event canceled all remaining nights out of respect for Mick's family. They are now cooperating with officials at Stearns County who are currently investigating the incident.
How Many Have Died in Tractor Accidents in the US
It is unclear how many have been killed in hayride tractor accidents so far in 2024. However, there have been a minimum of 24 deaths and 204 injuries since at least 2000, according to White Hutchinson, a company consulting in agritourism.
