Who was Brandy Horner? Pennsylvania woman, 33, dies in accident while watching tractor pull at fair
LAURELTON, PENNSYLVANIA: A woman is being fondly remembered after she died in an accident during a fair in Pennsylvania on Friday, August 11.
Brandy Horner, 33, died while observing a tractor pull at the Union County West End Fair in Laurelton, according to NBC affiliate WJAC-TV and The Tribune-Democrat.
Who was Brandy Horner?
Horner was a 33-year-old woman and had two children. She got married 10 years ago, according to her obituary. She used to work at a non-profit, The Learning Lamp, in Richland.
Leah Spangler, the president of the non-profit, said, “Brandy’s heart was really into her work because she loved working with kids and saw the value in the preschool program. My heart goes out to her family in this difficult time.”
The staffers at The Learning Lamp are planning to gather as a group to discuss the best way to honor Horner's memory.
“[It] is a huge loss for our organization and with school starting back up, it’s going to be very hard on our preschool team, because that department is so close with one another," Spangler told the outlet.
How did Brandy Horner die?
Horner was watching the event around 8.30 pm when a fragment of a wheel dislodged and ejected from a tractor's metal covering before striking her in neck. The Pennsylvania State Police concluded after an investigation that the vehicle had an equipment malfunction.
Union County Coroner Dominick Adamo stated that Horner was rushed to the Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg but died less than an hour after the accident.
Dennis Boop, the president of the Union County West End Fair, mentioned that there was no protective fencing around the track where the incident occurred. He referred to it as a "freak accident," per PennLive.com. The police confirmed that there were no indications of foul play or criminal involvement.
The sudden loss of Horner has deeply affected many of the teachers she worked alongside, as stated by WJAC-TV.
The Union County West End Fair communicated that all events at the pulling track for the day were canceled on Saturday morning, August 12, citing unforeseen circumstances. However, fair activities continued.