Fatal Hayride Crash on Halloween in Newton County

A Halloween hayride left a Newton County mother and two of her daughters dead after it collided with another vehicle last night. The third child remains in critical condition with serious injuries as tragedy strikes again for this family in the small town of Chunky, Mississippi, just months after the father’s passing in July.
News 25’s Gina Tomlinson takes us to the scene of the Halloween tragedy.
Halloween candy scattered on the ground is all that’s left from a terrible accident on Halloween that has left the small town of Chunky, Mississippi still stuck in a nightmare. A truck smashed into a family hayride, killing two children and their mother.
One of the first ones there to help was Danny Todd, a former volunteer fireman living in the community. Todd says the sight of Monday night’s wreck will haunt him forever. “It’s sad with anyone involved, but that many kids, it’s just really hard.”
A pickup truck was driving on Highway 80 and rammed into the backend of a trailer full of passengers being towed by a Jeep. Thirty-three-year-old Kristina Shaver, eight-year-old Baylie and two-year-old Brooke Shaver were killed in the crash. Seven other people who were aboard the trailer are now fighting for their lives in critical condition. Residents tell News 25 one is a 7-year-old, Kristina Shaver’s only child left.
“Everyone banded together really good and just tried to get the job done as quick as we could. It’s just hard to talk, it was just a hard scene to work,” said Todd.
Out of the three people killed, two died at the wreck and one died waiting for a hospital helicopter. The driver of the Jeep, 58-year-old Terry Smith, and the driver of the truck, 20-year-old Chase Cook, were both not injured.
At the scene you can still see the paint marks and remnants of a holiday celebration that was supposed to be fun, but turned into a tragedy. “It’s something that’s not going to be easily forgotten. It’s going to take a while for the community as well as the families involved to heal,” said Todd.
A small town struck by such a devastating tragedy on Halloween serves as a reminder to appreciate each day. “Just got to step back and think about what matters in life and realize that no one’s promised tomorrow,” said Todd.