Hay bales fall on teenager

SYRACUSE — A 16-year-old boy was in critical but non-life-threatening condition Tuesday after several bales of hay fell on him in what police called a freak accident.

The teen was helping to load hay bales on the back of a tractor trailer in a field near 3900 West and 2700 South. The hay was being stacked three bales high, said Syracuse Police Lt. Tracy Jensen.

While loading one side of the trailer, about three bales on the opposite side fell about 9:30 a.m., Jensen said. He wasn't sure if all three hit the boy, but he was knocked unconscious.

Others helped uncover the teen. He was conscious and talking again by the time he was taken by medical helicopter to a local hospital to be checked for possible internal injuries.

— Pat Reavy