A 17-year-old girl was killed in a hayride accident in a rural farm located in the Maine woods. Authorities disclosed on Sunday that 20 other people were injured.

Cassidy Charette was one of the passengers of the Halloween-themed hayride, called "Gauntlet Haunted Night Ride", which went out of control going down a hill then smashed into a tree. She was said to have succumbed to her injuries following the crash of the overturned wagon found at a rural farm in Mechanic Falls on Saturday night.

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In a statement from Sgt. Joel Davis, he described that the impact of the crash "threw everyone off the trailer and into each other and into trees". Preliminary findings indicated that a mechanical issue hindered the vehicle pulling the wagon to come to a halt, added the state fire marshal's office deputy.

The accident fatally injured the 17-year-old Charette, as well as hurt roughly half a dozen people who were still in the hospitals as of Sunday afternoon, Davis shared. However, the injuries of those remaining in the hospital were claimed to not be life-threatening.

Davis said that Charette and her friends visit the Harvest Hills Farm every fall. She was a player for the Messalonskee High School girls' soccer team. In a statement from the school's principal, Jon Moody, he shared that grief counselors will be aiding the students to deal with the recent tragedy.

In a report from the fire marshal's office, the wagon was attached to a 1979 Jeep. Among those injured in the accident was the 54-year-old driver of the SUV, David Brown, who resides in South Paris. According to a spokesperson of the farm, Brown owns a commercial driver's license.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the family," farm spokesman Scott Lansley said. "We're a tight community. This is really a tragedy for us."

Records show that the haunted ride had been an attraction in the area for roughly five years. Throughout its operation, this incident marked the first sign of danger posed by the hayride.

At present, authorities are still in the process of determining whether a criminal liability could be found against the owners or the driver.