Dozens injured after wagon overturns at Wisconsin apple orchard: Authorities
(CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis.) — More than two dozen people were injured, including three critically, after a wagon overturned at an apple orchard in Wisconsin, authorities said.
The incident was reported Wednesday morning at Bushel and a Peck Apple Orchard in Chippewa Falls.
Elementary school-age children, parents and other chaperones were on a field trip at the time and were on a wagon ride, according to Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes.
A tractor was pulling two wagons at a “low speed” on a public road when the accident occurred, Hakes said.
One of the wagons began to lose control and turn sideways as it descended a hill and overturned, resulting in injuries to both children and adults, Hakes said.
“It’s a traumatic day for a lot of people,” Hakes told reporters during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
Emergency personnel were dispatched for a “tractor accident involving two hay wagons with kids and adults,” Chippewa Fire District Deputy Chief Cory Jeffers told reporters.
The fire department activated its mass casualty protocol so that outside agencies could help respond to the incident, Jeffers said. One helicopter from the Mayo Clinic was called in, he said.
Twenty-five individuals were transported from the scene to various agencies, Jeffers said. One patient was transported via the helicopter and nine via ambulance, Hakes said. Some were also transported in personal vehicles, he said.
Three people have life-threatening injuries and five have serious injuries, according to Hakes.
Marshfield Medical Center-Eau Claire received seven patients from the incident who are being treated for minor to serious injuries, a spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
Hakes said he believes all patients are in stable condition.
Authorities did not release additional details on the victims, including how many were children.
Hakes called the incident “heart-wrenching.”
“As a parent myself, it’s a parent’s greatest fear that something happens to their children,” he said.
He said he responded to the scene and helped calm the children and reunite them with their parents.
“The children were extremely brave, very resilient,” he added.
The scene has since been cleared, Jeffers said. All of the children who were still at the scene have been reunited with their families, he added.
The children attended St. Mark Lutheran School in Eau Claire, the school’s principal confirmed.
“At this point, we are focusing on reuniting the children with their caregivers,” Principal Peter Micheel said in a statement to ABC News. “Whenever we face a challenging time, we commit everything to the Lord’s care and trust his guiding hand.”
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ABC News left a message with the orchard seeking comment.
Chippewa Falls is located about 12 miles northeast of Eau Claire.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — One person is dead and two people have been reported missing with several others injured in what authorities are describing as a “major marine incident” that has caused “mass casualty” in Connecticut, officials said.
The North Madison Volunteer Fire Department says that the three people reported missing do not have life jackets and that multiple personnel and ambulances from the towns surrounding Old Saybrook, where the incident is currently ongoing, are assisting with the operation.
Authorities responded to the boating accident at approximately 9:15 p.m. Monday and discovered a single motorboat floating, half-submerged, near the Harbor One Marina in Old Saybrook. There was significant damage to the boat, which hit the east-facing jetty at the mouth of the Connecticut River.
A total of nine people were on the boat. An adult male was recovered deceased, and six people were taken to the hospital for treatment. As of 1 a.m., two people were still being searched for.
“A mass casualty incident describes an incident in which emergency medical services resources, such as personnel and equipment, are overwhelmed by the number and severity of casualties,” the North Madison Volunteer Fire Department said in a follow up statement online describing the operation.
No other details about the cause of the accident or the identities of the victims have been made available and the incident is ongoing.
(TULSA, Okla.) — A dog in Tulsa, Oklahoma, started a house fire after biting into a lithium ion battery, fire officials said.
The Tulsa Fire Department recently released dramatic footage of the fire, which took place in May, showing the portable cellphone battery sparking and bursting into flames, sending two dogs and a cat running.
The home sustained significant damage in the fire, but the pets escaped through a dog door and were not harmed, according to Andy Little, a spokesperson for the fire department.
“However, the outcome could’ve been much worse if there had been no means of escape or if the family was asleep at the time,” Little added.
Little called lithium ion battery fires a “critical issue that has been affecting fire departments across the United States.”
The batteries, commonly used to charge cellphones, are “known for storing a significant amount of energy in a compact space,” Little said.
“However, when this energy is released uncontrollably, it can generate heat, produce flammable and toxic gases and even lead to explosions,” he added.
Extreme heat exposure, physical damage, overcharging and using incompatible charging equipment can lead to the devices catching fire, according to experts.
Little urged the public to exercise caution with lithium ion batteries, including storing them out of reach of children and pets.
To dispose of the devices, Little said they should be brought to a designated recycling center or hazardous waste collection point — not simply thrown in the garbage, which could damage the batteries and potentially cause fires.
“Let us work together to prevent lithium-ion battery-related fires and keep our homes and communities safe,” Little said.
(NEW YORK) — Tens of thousands of Boeing workers have voted to strike after rejecting the proposed contract from the embattled aerospace company — a move with far-reaching implications for the U.S. economy.
Boeing had reached a tentative agreement earlier this week with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM, the union representing 33,000 workers at Boeing plants in Washington State, Oregon and California.
However, union members rejected the contract agreement on Thursday night with a vote of 94.6%. IAM’s members will strike at midnight on Friday after 96% voted for the action.
“The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with IAM leadership was not acceptable to the members,” Boeing said in a statement following the strike vote. “We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union, and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement.”
A work stoppage would weaken Boeing as it struggles to recover from a years-long stretch of scandals and setbacks, hamstringing the nation’s largest exporter, experts told ABC News. But, they added, workers are frustrated with what they perceive as inadequate compensation and a sense they must sacrifice to make up for the company’s mismanagement.
Here’s what to know about what’s behind the strike and its implications for the U.S. economy:
Why are Boeing workers preparing to strike?
Neither Boeing nor the IAM wants a strike. The workers might carry one out anyway.
The tentative agreement struck this week delivers a 25% raise over the four-year duration of the contract, as well as worker gains on healthcare costs and retirement benefits. The union had sought a 40% pay increase over the life of the deal.
The agreement also features a commitment from Boeing to build its next commercial plane with union labor in Washington state.
Boeing touted the strength of its offer earlier this week. “Simply put, this is the best contract we’ve ever presented,” Stephanie Pope, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO, wrote in a letter to union members obtained by ABC News.
The union echoed support for the agreement, urging workers to ratify the deal.
“We have achieved everything we could in bargaining, short of a strike. We recommended acceptance because we can’t guarantee we can achieve more in a strike,” IAM District 571 President Jon Holden, who leads the union local involved in negotiations, told members in a public letter.
In response to ABC News’ request for comment, a Boeing spokesperson pointed to a letter sent to union members by CEO Kelly Ortberg.
“I hope you will choose the bright future ahead, but I also know there are employees considering another path — and it’s one where no one wins,” Ortberg said.
“For Boeing, it is no secret that our business is in a difficult period, in part due to our own mistakes in the past. Working together, I know that we can get back on track, but a strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to determine our future together,” Ortberg added.
IAM declined to respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Still, the vote indicates that workers are ready to defy the company and the union. For years, West Coast Boeing workers have taken issue with their level of compensation, especially in light of strong company performance and a surge in the cost of living, experts said.
“There are years and years of pent-up frustration among Boeing workers,” Jake Rosenfeld, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis who studies labor, told ABC News. “This is an expression of being completely fed up.”
Union members also view themselves as being asked to make sacrifices made necessary by the company’s mismanagement, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group.
In January, a door plug blew out of the company’s 737 Max 9 aircraft during an Alaska Airlines flight, prompting a federal investigation. The renewed scrutiny arrived roughly five years after Boeing 737 Max aircraft were grounded worldwide following a pair of crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a combined 346 people.
In 2021, after a two-year ban, Boeing 737 Max aircraft were permitted to fly.
Boeing is carrying nearly $60 billion in debt, Pope noted in her letter to union members. The company’s share price has plummeted almost 40% since the outset of 2024. Ortberg took over as CEO last month.
“The workers cannot and should not be expected to bear all of the burden of the changes needed at Boeing,” Harteveldt said.
“But I don’t think Boeing is asking them or expecting them to do that,” Harteveldt added. “Boeing has extended what appears to be a very generous offer with substantial wage increases.”
What’s at stake in a potential Boeing strike?
Boeing, which employs 145,000 U.S.-based workers, is a major U.S. firm with a sprawling network of suppliers, experts said.
The company estimates that it contributes nearly $80 billion to the U.S. economy each year, and indirectly accounts for 1.6 million jobs.
A prolonged strike would weaken production with the potential to slow output, diminish income and trigger layoffs, Harteveldt said.
“There’s a risk of a downward spiral,” Harteveldt said.
Such a strike would not impact flight activity or down planes, however, since the workers at issue take part in manufacturing new products. That stands in contrast with an averted railroad strike in 2022, which would have halted a sizable share of the nation’s cargo trains.
“This wouldn’t be as devastating,” Rosenfeld said.
Still, he added, a potential strike would hold implications for a signature U.S. firm.
“It would further damage an iconic company that has already had years of setbacks,” Rosenfeld said.