3-Year-Old Run Over By Forklift In Lancaster County — A Day After Teen Died In Wagon Fall

A three-year-old boy died Tuesday after being run over by a forklift at the Lancaster County farm where he lived – one day after a 16-year-old was killed in a fall from a horse-drawn wagon in the same township (Leacock). From LNP | LancasterOnline:

A 3-year-old boy died Tuesday morning when he was run over by a forklift at the Leacock Township farm where he lived, Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said.

“Unfortunately, it was a traumatic injury with a forklift,” Diamantoni said in a phone interview Wednesday. The boy, Jay Fisher, was pronounced dead in the trauma bay of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital.

An autopsy Wednesday morning determined he died of multiple traumatic injuries. His death was ruled by the coroner’s office to be an accident.

The accident happened around 11 a.m. at a farm on North Soudersburg Road, just north of Route 30 (Lincoln Highway East). A state police spokesman told LNP an investigation remains active, so no other details could be released.

LNP does not identify the family as Amish. But like the case of the 16-year-old who died in the corn harvesting accident, a number of signs suggest this poor little boy was Amish.

LNP is running a photo of the farm where it occurred, which has every appearance of an Amish farm. As noted yesterday, Leacock Township is in the heart of the Lancaster County Amish settlement. The boy’s surname is a very common one among the community’s Amish population.

This is the second child death on a farm in Leacock Township this week. On Monday, 16-year-old Alvin Petersheim of Paradise Township died after falling from a horse-drawn wagon while harvesting corn. It is also the latest in a series of farm accidents involving young people that we have covered, some of which I linked in yesterday’s post on Alvin Petersheim.

Bad news can come in bunches. I’m sorry to hear this difficult news and can’t imagine how it must be to lose a little boy like that. Prayers for this family.

A Young Amish Girl Was Also Killed By A Forklift In 2025

In March 2025, 16-month-old Amish girl Martha G. King died in a farming accident in neighboring Upper Leacock Township. The coroner ruled her death accidental, from multiple traumatic injuries. Early reports didn’t say what happened, but the coroner’s office later said she was struck by a forklift operating on the property.

Amish in some communities use forklifts in various ways – to move pallets of materials, transport produce, and in home workshops and warehouses. They are common enough in Lancaster County, a technologically progressive community.

According to LNP, Lancaster County typically sees more farm-related deaths in a year than any other county in Pennsylvania. Children five and younger accounted for 16 of the 29 farm deaths the paper covered between 2016 and 2023.

The Lancaster County Amish Safety Committee has been working on farm injuries, particularly among children. The committee includes five Amish representatives, elected from within their community, who serve alongside health and safety professionals. Lindsay Pringle of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, a co-chair of the committee, discussed its work at a county Health Advisory Council meeting in July 2025. From LNP:

“The committee’s efforts focus on home and family safety, farm safety, road safety and school safety. Through ongoing collaboration and educational opportunities, including the annual Farm and Family Safety Day, the committee works to address safety risks while respecting the culture, values and traditions of the Amish community,” Pringle, who was at the July meeting, said Wednesday.

Initiatives mentioned include hay hole covers, reflective brow bands for buggies, reflective vests, and an upcoming focus on drowning prevention.