Hayride Crash Kills 32-Year-Old Woman, Sends 14 Kids To Hospital

NAUVOO, IL — A hayride crash killed one woman and injured 20 other people during a family event Saturday in rural western Illinois, state police said.

State troopers were called around 9 p.m. to the scene of the crash at County Road 2000 North and County Road 800 East, where a tractor pulling a double-axel trailer lost control on an incline and slid off the road and into a wooded ravine, according to Illinois State Police.

Amy Swinderman, 32, of Hamilton, was identified as the woman who died. State police reported three adults and 14 children between age 1 and 12 were who riding on haybales at the time were taken to a local hospital.

The driver of the 1994 John Deere tractor trailer, 41-year-old Wayne York of Nauvoo, was issued a citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. York and multiple passengers were ejected.

One of the children suffered serious injuries. Some of the injured were evacuated by helicopter, according to WGEM-TV, which first reported the crash. Preliminary results of the state police crash investigation found that the tractor was too small for its load, according to the station.

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