Halloween Hayride Crushes Bones of Innocent Rider
In yet another horrifying Halloween hayride accident, an Ohio woman was transported to Ohio State University Medical Center after she fell off the side of a Halloween hayride and was pinned underneath the wheels. The individual identified by news sources as Tonya Reynolds suffered a broken arm and her legs were crushed by the ride according to officials. (news article)
In a separate situation, a 7 year old New Jersey boy was left in critical condition after falling from a hayride and striking his head. According to the news report, Jacob George was a passenger on a haunted hayride at the Shrine of St. Joseph Church on Long Hill Road in Stirling, NJ on Friday, October 24th, when he fell off the trailer he was riding on and suffered head injuries. He was transported to Morristown Memorial Hospital where he remained in critical condition. Members of the Morris County, New Jersey Sheriff’s Office Accident Reconstruction Team assisted with the investigation and shut down the ride. (news article )
It is with great sadness that I read about these easily preventable and tragic incidents. As a catastrophic injury attorney in Pennsylvania, I have spent a good portion of the last year working on an almost identical hayride case where a six year old boy on a class outing was also run over by a Halloween hayride, as his mother also instinctively threw herself at her son in an attempt to save him. All of these accidents certainly indicate the necessity of improving safety, supervision, maintenance and warning requirements when dealing with amusement rides and Halloween hayrides where the lives of unsuspecting and innocent children are so frequently involved. My deepest and heartfelt sympathies go out to these families.
The operators of these hayrides should not take their responsibilities lightly. Thousands of families who like to visit and enjoy amusement parks and Halloween hayrides every fall count on these hayride operators to make their experience safe and fun. If they fail to ensure their customers’ safety because of carelessness or negligence, they must be held responsible for the injuries and losses they have caused. We certainly wish the victims of these horrible tragedies a speedy recover and hope that state officials and investigators will do a thorough job investigating these incidents. It is incredible that such accidents are continuing to occur with all of the checks and inspections that are supposed to be in place. It will be interesting to see what information the inspection records for this equipment reveals.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a hayride accident, please call the Pennsylvania catastrophic injury and amusement injury lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.
