2 Amish boys killed by corn-laden truck on Indiana farm

NAPPANEE, Ind. – Authorities say two Amish brothers were killed when they were run over by a tractor-trailer hauling corn on a farm in northern Indiana.

Kosciusko (kahs-ee-AHS’-koh) County Coroner Tony Ciriello says 5-year-old Jaylin Hochstetler and 3-year-old Kenton Hochstetler died Tuesday afternoon on the farm near Nappanee, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) southeast of South Bend. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Ciriello tells WNDU-TV that the boys were playing outside when they apparently “became intrigued with the combines and trucks,” crossed a fence and climbed beneath the trailer, which was loaded with 90,000 pounds (40,000 kilograms) of corn.

Police say a preliminary investigation indicates the 26-year-old Nappanee man who was driving the tractor-trailer then began pulling forward, unaware that the children were underneath.