Apple orchard wagon tips over on kids’ field trip, Wisconsin cops say. Dozens injured

Authorities in Wisconsin are hailing “brave” and “resilient” children who were riding in a wagon that overturned at an apple orchard.

The incident happened Wednesday, Sept. 18, at Bushel and a Peck Apple Orchard in Chippewa Falls and led to 25 people being injured, WQOW reported.

Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes said in a statement that the children were with parents and chaperones on a field trip.

They were riding in a wagon pulled by a tractor when it began to lose control going downhill, Hakes said. The driver tried to stop, but the wagon tipped over, according to the sheriff.

Of the 25 injured, three were transported to hospitals with life-threatening injuries and five had serious injuries, Hakes said. Nine were taken to hospitals by ambulance, one by helicopter and several by personal vehicles, the sheriff said.

Hakes said first responders helped “address the medical needs in a timely manner.”

The children were described as “elementary age,” the sheriff said in a press conference streamed by KSTP. They attend St. Mark Lutheran School in Eau Claire, WQOW reported

“As a parent myself, it’s a parent’s greatest fear that something happens to their children, especially when they’re as young as that,” Hakes said. “I can tell you the children were extremely brave, very resilient ... I’m very proud of every one of those kiddos.”

Bushel and a Peck offers daily tours that include a demonstration of apple picking and a wagon ride in the orchard.

Chippewa Falls is about a 100-mile drive east from Minneapolis.

This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 9:02 AM with the headline "Apple orchard wagon tips over on kids’ field trip, Wisconsin cops say. Dozens injured."