Horror as Hayride Flips, Killing 1, Injuring All Aboard

A haunted hayride went horribly awry last night in Maine, when a Jeep pulling a wagon full of people toward a haunted house missed a turn, flipping the wagon and injuring all 22 aboard, along with the Jeep's driver, reports the Press Herald. A 17-year-old girl died overnight, adds the AP, and another teen and the driver are both in critical condition. "I’ve never witnessed a single incident that resulted in so many injuries," said the local sheriff, a 19-year veteran. "We’re talking about a very narrow dirt road, but extremely steep."

A pair of medical helicopters airlifted the seriously injured, and 12 ambulances responded to the scene when the Gauntlet Haunted Night Ride overturned about 8:30pm in Mechanic Falls. The hayride had apparently slowed at the top of a hill so that those aboard could get a glimpse of a house said to be haunted. "They jerk the trailer a bit just to get a little excitement going," says the sheriff. Officials are investigating; the AP notes that a mechanical issue with the Jeep may have been a factor. "It’s dark—we’re going to be back in the daylight to look at the scene and try to figure out what happened," said a fire marshal. (More hayride stories.)