Truck Hits Amish Family’s Buggy – Sending Three To Hospital Badly Injured (Michigan)
After a spate of bad crashes, it’s been a while since we’ve had a report of an Amish buggy wreck in Michigan.* Sadly, the Graber family of Montgomery, Michigan were the victims in a wreck yesterday in Hillsdale County. More from MLive:
HILLSDALE COUNTY, MI – An Amish man and two of his children were seriously injured when a pickup crashed into their buggy Sunday afternoon.
Police and rescue crews were called at 1:49 p.m., Dec. 21, to Mead Road north of W. Territorial Road in Camden Township for a report of a crash involving a truck and an Amish buggy, according to the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office.
The preliminary investigation showed a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado, driven by a 31-year-old man, was going south on Mead Road when he crashed into the back of the buggy also going south, police said.
The buggy was occupied by the man who was driving, his wife and their five children.
The man and one of his sons were separately airlifted to different hospitals in Ann Arbor (one a children’s hospital). A second son was taken to a local hospital. Two were described as “seriously injured”, and you’d assume those to be the two airlifted.
No one was arrested, though the crash remains under investigation. Of course we wish for the best for this family.
Hillsdale County has been well-settled by the Amish over the years, and is home to four separate communities and around 1,500 Amish residents. The area where this incident happened, Camden Township, has had an Amish presence since the 1950s.
As we’ve covered here repeatedly, Michigan has seen its share of bad buggy wrecks this past year (and prior to that). Commendably, local government and authorities in southern Michigan (specifically Amish-heavy Hillsdale, Branch, and St. Joseph Counties) have taken steps towards improving safety for buggies on the roads.
I had a chance to sit in on one of their committee meetings several months ago, and heard some good ideas as far as improving horse-and-buggy visibility and public awareness. I hope that they are eventually able to implement changes that might help prevent some of these wrecks.
*That doesn’t meant that they haven’t been happening, as not all buggy wrecks make the news. By the same token, the seemingly frequent occurrence of buggy crash reports in Michigan could also simply indicate more thorough media coverage than in other places/states.
Michigan Buggy Accident
If he was driving a 2026 Silverado, then clearly he hadn’t owned it very long. Since he sent several people to area hospitals, perhaps he’ll be a LOT more careful next time?? 31 years old is young to be involved in an accident. Can’t help but wonder if alcohol/speed were factors here?? Or what his driving record even looked like prior to the accident. Those safety implementations can’t come soon enough for the Amish. No matter where they live in America. Just saying . . .