Farm acknowledges criminal negligence in fatal hayride crash
AUBURN, Maine — A farm where a teenager died in a hayride crash acknowledged for the first time Tuesday that criminal negligence played a role in the tragedy.
A lawyer for the girl’s family accused Harvest Hill Farm of putting “profit ahead of safety” by neglecting maintenance before the hayride went out of control, killing 17-year-old Cassidy Charette and sending more than 20 others to the hospital on Oct. 11, 2014.
“It was a tragedy that could have and should have been prevented,” said Jody Nosfinger, attorney for Charette’s family.