Halloween hayride crash kills 3 family members in Mississippi

CHUNKY, MS -- A vehicle struck a flat-bed trailer carrying adults and children who were dressed up for Halloween, killing three people and injuring several others in a small Mississippi town, authorities said.

Two children and one adult - all related to each other - were killed in the crash, Newton County Coroner Danny Shoemaker said late Monday. Their names and ages were not immediately released.

"It was just chaos," Shoemaker said, describing the scene of the wreck on U.S. Highway 80 in Chunky, a town near the Alabama border, about 80 miles east of Jackson.

There was no immediate word on what caused the crash.

The coroner said two people died at the scene and the other died waiting for a hospital helicopter.

Three helicopters and multiple ambulances took the injured to hospitals. Some had life-threatening injuries, Highway Patrol Capt. Johnny Poulos said.

Poulos told The Associated Press it appears the vehicle struck the trailer about 7:45 p.m. CDT. Details about the number of people injured were not immediately available. Investigators were on the scene late Monday.

Poulos said he did not know what group was sponsoring the trailer ride.

Chunky has a population of about 325. It is near the Chunky River, a popular site for canoeing.