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Brothers, 3 and 5, die in 'traumatic' tractor tragedy

A three-year-old and a five-year-old have died in a horrific farming accident, in what the coroner said was one of the “most traumatic” things he had ever seen.

Jaylin Hochstetler, 5, and Kenton Hochstetler, 3, two Amish brothers from Kosciusko County in the US state of Indiana, were killed when they were run over by a tractor hauling corn.

The boys were pronounced dead on the scene on Tuesday (local time).

The brothers lived on a farm next to a field, and the pair decided to jump the fence and hide under a truck. Source: WNDU.
The brothers lived on a farm next to a field, and the pair decided to jump the fence and hide under a truck. Source: WNDU

Kosciusko County Coroner, Tony Ciriello, said the boys were playing outside when they became intrigued by the trucks on the neighbouring field, according to WNDU.

Ms Ciriello said the two boys climbed the fence and he believed they were playing some sort of game.

“For some reason or another, got under the semi-grain trailer. It was attached to a semi-tractor, and apparently they were playing or hiding. We aren't sure exactly what happened yet,” Mr Ciriello told WNDU.

The trailer had just been loaded with 40,000kgs of corn, and the diver has been identified as 26-year-old Benjamin Tyler Sheets.

The coroner said the children would have both died instantly, and it is believed they were hiding under the truck. Source: WNDU.
The coroner said the children would have both died instantly, and it is believed they were hiding under the truck. Source: WNDU.

The preliminary police investigation found Mr Sheets was unaware of the children under his trailer. It wasn’t until the man had moved his vehicle about four metres forward and was looking in the rearview mirror that he noticed the children.

“I would say this ranks up in the top four or five of the most traumatic I've seen over my career when it involves children," Mr Ciriello said.

According to WNSU, the mother was inside the family home caring for another child when the boys snuck off into the neighbouring field.

With AP

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