Farmer Indicted On Charges Stemming From Teen’s Work Death

HOMER, N.Y. (AP) — State authorities have indicted a central New York farmer on child labor violations and other charges for the death of a 14-year-old employee who was killed while operating machinery.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says Alex Smith was working on the Park Family Farm in the Cortland County town of Homer in July 2015 when he got pinned beneath a hydraulic lift he had been operating. Officials say his torso was crushed and he asphyxiated.

Schneiderman says the state's child labor laws prohibit children from operating heavy and dangerous machinery. On Wednesday he announced that farm owner Luke Park has been indicted on 15 counts connected to the teen's death, including falsifying business records and endangering the welfare of a child.

Attempts to reach Park for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]