Driver Flees After Hitting Amish Buggy & Injuring 4 Children (Wisconsin)

Four Amish children were injured Thursday afternoon when a motor vehicle attempting to pass their buggy hit it as it turned. The driver then decided to keep driving, leaving the scene. However, he or she was later arrested.

The crash occurred in the Town of Buffalo in Marquette County, Wisconsin. From the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office statement:

At approximately 3:44 p.m. today, September 17, 2026, the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office responded to a crash involving an Amish buggy and a motor vehicle on County Highway O in the Town of Buffalo.

Two Amish buggies were traveling westbound on County Highway O. The lead buggy was attempting to turn onto 12th Avenue when it was struck by a motor vehicle that was also traveling westbound and attempting to pass. The second buggy was not involved in the collision.

Four children were occupants of the buggy that was struck and sustained injuries. Two of the children were transported to area hospitals, one by ground ambulance and one by UW Med Flight.

The driver of the motor vehicle initially left the scene. Deputies have since made contact with the driver, who is cooperating with the investigation. The driver was subsequently arrested and is being booked into the Marquette County Jail.

Two of these children were hurt badly enough to be taken to the hospital, one of them by helicopter. That fact suggests that at least one of the injuries was pretty bad. I hope their injuries are survivable.

We do not know the ages of the children; we can only assume they are under 18 years of age. They could be teenagers, or a bit younger even. Amish children as young as 10 or 12 drive full-sized buggies (maybe younger in some cases).

A Dangerous Left Turn Situation

The crash happened in a left turn situation. This is a potentially dangerous situation, compounded by the fact there were two buggies.

Many buggies have turn signals, but those in some plainer communities, which do not use battery-powered lighting, do not. The Amish in this settlement (Kingston community, from what I can tell; see below), do use lights on their buggies.

Good drivers use turn signals, whether Amish or non-Amish. Based on my own experience observing non-Amish drivers, for many they are optional. Amish buggy drivers are instructed to use them as well, but as in any group of people, some do not.

But even with turn signals, when two buggies are traveling one behind the other, as was described to be the case here, the back buggy might block view of an engaged turn signal in the front one.

However, this is another unknown. There is no information from the Sheriff as to whether the buggy signaled the turn, or whether the passing maneuver was already underway when the turn began.

In any case, this is another situation to keep in mind when passing Amish buggies. A buggy in front of you may be attempting a left turn, and if it lacks turn signals, you may be in the dark as to that intention, until it starts turning.

This driver compounded the badness of the situation by deciding to flee the scene. The sheriff’s report says that “Deputies have since made contact with the driver, who is cooperating with the investigation” before arresting him or her. It doesn’t seem like tracking down this alleged hit-and-run driver was too difficult for them.

Marquette County is one of three counties with members of the Kingston Amish settlement, which also extends into Green Lake and Columbia counties. It is the second-largest Amish community in Wisconsin, founded in 1977, with an Amish population of around 2,520 across 15 church districts. The county has two other settlements, but some distance from this area. So it is likely the children are from the Kingston settlement.

This is at least the second serious buggy crash in the state in under two weeks. On September 4 in Monroe County, a driver struck a buggy from behind, having been distracted by a sneezing fit, killing a 37-year-old Amish woman and injuring five others.

Update: Driver Charged With Felony; Injury Update

The driver has now been identified and charged. From WKOW:

TOWN OF BUFFALO, Wis. (WKOW) — The driver of a vehicle who crashed into an Amish buggy on Thursday has been charged.

John Sebbas, 22, of Wisconsin Rapids, is charged with felony hit and run — causing great bodily harm.

Sebbas was described as cooperating with the investigation, and has been booked into Marquette County Jail.

The Sheriff’s Office also gave an update on the children. It sounds like there may have been a fifth child involved:

Following the initial release, an additional juvenile who was an occupant of the buggy was taken to a hospital for evaluation and has since been released.

At this time, one child remains hospitalized and is expected to be released.

The fact that there is just one child still hospitalized, and is expected to be released, is good news.