Mom of two killed by wheel in ‘freak accident’ during tractor pull at Pennsylvania fair

A mother of two died in a “freak accident” while watching a tractor pull at a Pennsylvania fair when part of a vehicle’s wheel broke off during the competition and struck her in the neck.

Brandy Horner was killed Friday night at the Union County West End Fair in Laurelton after an “equipment malfunction” caused the exhaust wheel to dislodge and eject into the stands, striking the 33-year-old, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Off-duty medical workers and first responders on the scene tried to help her before she was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead.

“It was a freak accident,” fair President Dennis Boop told PennLive.com.

Though fair activities continued, the rest of the events at the pulling track were canceled “due to unforeseen circumstances,” fair organizers wrote on its Facebook page.

No foul play or criminality was suspected, police said.

Horner is survived by Travis, her husband of 10 years, and two sons, according to her obituary.

“Her world revolved around family but especially ‘her 3 boys,’ Troy, Blake and Travis,” the obit says. “She also enjoyed baking, gardening and camping with her family. Brandy will be sadly missed by many.”

Leah Spangler, the president of The Learning Lamp where Horner worked for many years, called her death a “huge loss.”

“Brandy’s heart was really into her work because she loved working with kids and saw the value in the preschool program,” Spangler told the Tribune-Democrat.

Jen Percinsky, director of one of Horner’s son’s preschool programs, told WJAC other teachers she knows were devastated.

“I know a lot of the teachers that worked with her,” she said. “Facebook is blowing up that they’re just devastated, and she pretty much raised their children, and she did such a great job with them.”

Tractor pulling is thought of as the “world’s heaviest motorsport,” where modified tractors or trucks drag a metal sled along a track, according to the National Tractor Pullers Association.

The tractor that pulls its sled the farthest distance is the declared winner.