Two young boys die in separate Halloween hayride tractor incidents

Two young boys have died in separate tractor accidents at Halloween hayrides in Tennessee and Minnesota, local officials said. In Minnesota, 13-year-old Alexander Mick, of Rice, died Saturday after he was run over by a tractor-pulled trolley wagon, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. 

The sheriff’s office received a call around 7:30 p.m. about a young male injured after he was run over at the annual Harvest of Horror Haunted Hayride in the city of St. Augusta. 

Staff and bystanders, including an off-duty police officer and off-duty medic, rendered aid to the child. Lifesaving efforts continued when first responders arrived, but the boy tragically was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

The accident is under investigation. 

The website for the Harvest of Horror Haunted Hayride said: “Out of respect to the family involved, the organizers have made the decision to cancel the remaining nights of the 2024 Harvest of Horror.”

The event’s website said a “tragic accident” occurred Saturday evening that “involved the event’s hayride and resulted in a fatality.”

“We are cooperating fully with the authorities and are grateful for their support. 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,” the event organizers said. 

In Tennessee, a young boy had attempted jump on a trailer to try to scare some hayriders at the Haunted Hilltop Halloween Event in Hamilton County on Friday when he “had possibly slipped and fallen underneath the wheels and was found unresponsive,” the local sheriff’s office said. 

The Hamilton County sheriff’s office responded to the scene at 10:45 p.m. A chaperone for a group of children said they had been playing near a hayride tractor route and were behind some bushes trying to scare some hayriders when the incident happened. 

The juvenile succumbed to their injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene.

The sheriff’s office did not identify the child, but the Hamilton County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as 12-year-old Samuel Jessen, NBC affiliate WSMV of Nashville reported. An online fundraiser has been set up to support his family.

“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. We ask the community to also keep this family in their prayers during this difficult time,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.