Michigan Crash That Killed 5 Amish: Driver Charged With Murder, DUI

Nearly a year after the deadly van wreck in Tuscola County, Michigan, that killed six people – five of them Amish – authorities have made an arrest.

Why the delay? They had to figure out who was actually driving the pickup truck that (reportedly) ran a stop sign and crashed into the van. More from ABC 12’s report:

Twenty-six-year-old John Stacey is facing 20 felony charges in connection with the Aug. 12, 2025, crash at the intersection of Vassar and Fairgrove roads in Gilford Township.

According to the Tuscola County Prosecutor’s Office, Stacey is charged with six counts of second-degree murder, along with six counts of operating while intoxicated causing death.

That accounts for twelve of the twenty felony counts. The remaining eight were not detailed in this reporting.

As a reminder, the five Amish people who died in the wreck were believed mostly in their 60s, and according to a local, were on their way to visit a cousin, about a 90-minute drive from their home community of Cass City, MI.

More Details

A few things stand out here. First, the intoxicated driving charges. When we first covered this crash back in August 2025, and followed up the next day with more details, the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office said there was no “outright” suspected alcohol or drug use – but that toxicology reports were still pending. Based on those charges it looks like the the toxicology report came back and it wasn’t clean.

Second, the delay in filing charges. Investigators apparently had their work cut out for them to determine who was actually behind the wheel. The report notes they “work[ed] for months to determine who was driving the pickup at the time of the collision.”

Three people were in the pickup truck, and one of them died in the crash. I suppose that if someone were driving while intoxicated, they wouldn’t want to be identified as the driver, if at all possible.

Third, this case has also been the subject of a civil lawsuit filed by the driver of the Amish van. It was already believed that Stacey was the driver when the suit was filed. But in terms of bringing criminal charges, they likely needed to do more work on the evidence side before delivering them.

This report on the civil suit from October 2025 provides more detail:

“It’s amazing anyone lived,” said attorney Vic Mastromarco.

The pickup truck had three occupants, including Robert Ames, who died from his injuries. The other two were injured.

Robert Page, the driver of the van, has filed a lawsuit against John Stacy, believed to be the pickup truck’s driver, and Miller Pipeline, the vehicle’s last known owner.

“It’s an absolute clear intersection. There is no way that he would be obstructed in any fashion. He just blew right through there,” Mastromarco said.

The lawsuit alleges negligence by the pickup truck’s driver and liability by its owner. The vehicle had a temporary license plate from Ohio.

Mastromarco said that Page continues to recover from significant heart problems caused by the accident.

No word on next steps as far as court dates. But good to see this moving forward even with an understandable delay.