13-Year-Old Amish Girl Killed in Wisconsin Buggy Crash — Despite Lights, Reflective Vest, and Slow-Moving Vehicle Sign

Very sad breaking news out of Sauk County, Wisconsin. A 13-year-old Amish girl lost her life while driving a buggy Wednesday morning, after it was struck by a Ford F350 hauling a trailer. From the report at WKOW:

VILLAGE OF IRONTON, Wis. (WKOW) — A 13-year-old Amish girl died after a truck pulling a trailer struck her horse and buggy from behind on Highway 58.

The crash was reported Wednesday around 8:51 a.m. in the Village of Ironton, according to a press release from the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office. It was reported that a truck hit the buggy just north of the intersection with Rabuck Road.

The girl, from the Village of LaValle, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said an 81-year-old man from Viola was driving a pickup truck pulling a gooseneck dump trailer. He was traveling north when he hit the buggy.

The report draws attention to the fact that the buggy – and even the girl herself – were equipped with multiple visibility elements: lights, slow-moving vehicle sign, and a “high-visibility reflective vest”, according to the sheriff’s office.

Noting her vest may mean that she was in an open buggy, where it would also possibly be a visible element. In a closed-top buggy, it wouldn’t be seen by the motor vehicle driver in a rear-impact crash such as this.

To state the obvious, the fact that a crash still happened even with visibility elements available tells us that those visibility features don’t guarantee protection. But it doesn’t tell us the whole story, and investigators will be looking into that of course.

It’s possible visibility was obscured for some other reason. The crash happened fairly early in the morning, but sunrise in this part of the country happens pretty early at this time of year – around 5:30 AM. So blinding light from the sun is less of an obvious factor, though may still be a part of this.

Sauk County is home to three Amish settlements. This one happened in the community based around Ironton, which has close to 500 Amish residents.

Unusually for fatal buggy accidents, the horse was not hurt, despite the buggy also suffering “major” damage. The driver of the pickup remained on the scene and spoke to detectives and is described as “fully cooperating”.

Prayers for this girl’s family. Can’t imagine what going through something like this must be like. Also for the pickup driver.