Collingswood Haunted Hayride abandoned after chaos broke out among more than 200 unruly teenagers in NJ

COLLINGSWOOD, New Jersey (WABC) — What started as a PTA fundraiser and family event in a South Jersey town was quickly cut short over the weekend after police said more than 200 teenagers had become unruly.

The PTA-sponsored Haunted Hayride in Knight Park was closed Saturday due to safety concerns, according to Collingswood police.

Police said that the young people were dropped off at the area where the event was held by many vehicles just after 20:00 in the evening.

The event was quickly disrupted as fights broke out and teenagers and young adults recklessly ran through the crowd and cut the line.

Collingswood police quickly intervened and tried to disperse the crowd. Additional support was called in from surrounding Camden County police departments to assist.

“Even with that response, they were overwhelmed by the number of people and what was going on,” Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley said.

Eleven-year-old Jude Adamoli was looking forward to joining in the fun.

“It’s often fun and sometimes scary, but hanging out with your friends is just a fun experience,” Adamoli said. “Punches were thrown and right when that happened, I went crazy.”

While officers were dispersing crowds in the park, they received a call reporting an incident at a Wawa store on Haddon Street. According to the police, approximately 50-70 young people took over the store, stealing items and causing disturbance.

Officers assisted Wawa in dispersing the teens and the store was closed to prevent further damage and theft.

Simultaneously, officers remaining at the event requested additional assistance for a group of children fighting at residences on Browning Road.

When police arrived at the scene, they found approximately 80 youths involved in a fight and encountered resistance from the crowd.

While they were breaking up the fight, some young people escaped from the scene and started running towards the backyards of nearby residences.

Police reported that no arrests were made and the investigation into the incident continues.

County leaders addressed the chaos at a town forum Wednesday night.

“Our intention is to identify as many people as possible. And if charges are necessary, charges will be filed at a later date. Our investigation is still ongoing, but our main priority at that time was to maintain order and get people out of the area safely,” said Collingswood Police Chief Kevin Carey.

Carey told the crowd that officers will now review body camera footage, surveillance footage and social media.

Although there was potential for injuries to people not involved in the chaos, no such injuries were reported.

“There was no interaction between groups trying to fight people who were on the haunted ride. Most of the groups interacted with each other,” Carey said.

Officials say preparations for public events have been made for the past few months to avoid these situations, but Collingswood County will review and revise its plans for future events.

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