Homemade train accident kills girl, others injured

A tragic accident claimed the life of a Marietta child and injured several others at a fundraising event at the Love County Fairgrounds late Friday afternoon.



The Oklahoma Highway Patrol continues to investigate the accident in which 8-year-old Jaylen Wolf died, and six other children ranging in age from 3 to 8 were injured.



Patrol reports indicate the accident occurred about 5:15 p.m. when Allen Ray Hicks, 34, Marietta, was driving a four-wheeler Kawasaki, which was pulling a homemade train, inside the fairgrounds building. The train’s cars were made from 55-gallon drums that had been welded to a metal frame. Each drum moved on two wheels.



Twelve children were riding inside the drum seats when the homemade train entered a curve and several of the cars tipped over onto the asphalt floor.



Children listed as injured in the accident included Devon Anderson, 3, Marietta, who was admitted to Mercy Health Center in Marietta. Alexandria Westfall, 5, Marietta, and 6-year-old Maddie Hicks, were both airlifted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Condition reports on the three were not available late Saturday.



Also taken by ambulance to the Marietta hospital were Tyler Hicks, 8, Marietta, Gavin Fethkener, 4, Marietta, and Miranda Robles, 4, Marietta. The patrol said those three children were treated and later released.



Patrol reports indicate troopers are still trying to identify five other children believed to have been passengers on the homemade train when the cars overturned.



Love County Sheriff Joe Russell called the accident, “very sad,” adding he had been told the event that prompted the train ride was a fundraiser for the local Big Five program.



Funeral services for Wolf are set for 2 p.m. Wednesday in Freeman Auditorium at Turner School.

This story provided by: ardmoreite.com