A 12-year-old boy attempting to spook some Halloween lovers fell from a hayride and was fatally run over by the vehicle in Tennessee over the weekend, police said.
The preteen was identified on Monday as Sam Jessen, who was a student at the Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts, WSMV reported.
“Sam was so full of life, and this is a devastating loss for his family and community,” reads a GoFundMe aimed at raising expenses for his funeral, which has raked in nearly $34,000 in donations as of Tuesday morning. It also noted the family has been left devastated since the tragedy occurred on Friday.
Deputies were called just before 11 p.m. to the Haunted Hilltop Halloween event in Harrison — a suburb of Chattanooga — which features a haunted house, haunted hayrides, a bonfire and concessions. When they arrived on the scene, they were met by a chaperone for a group of children, including Jessen, who’d been hiding in the bushes near the hayride route to scare riders, according to a statement from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
A witness added that one of the juveniles “attempted to jump on the trailer and had possibly slipped and fallen underneath the wheels,” police said.
Mikaela Forrester, who was on the ride at the time, said everyone onboard was crying out for the driver to stop, but that the ride continued onward.
“We could see the young man laying on the ground as we were going,” she told WSMV, adding that her father eventually jumped off the hayride to help the boy and call 911.
In a statement from Haunted Hilltop, the organizers claimed that boy “crossed over a barrier” and “jumped out and attempted to get on the side of the trailer” before he was run over.
The attraction was closed over the weekend “due to the tragic accident,” organizers said. “Our Hearts and Prayers go out to the family (affected) in this, Please keep us all in your prayers!”