Amish Man & Horse Swept Off Road – Then Rescued From Flood
First responders came to the rescue of one Amishman and his horse in Middle Tennessee. The report from WKRN is brief:
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Lawrence County authorities rescued an Amish driver, horse and buggy from Monday’s floodwaters.
A spokesperson with the Lawrence County Emergency Management Agency told News 2 the horse and buggy were washed off Beasley Road near Lawrenceburg.
The spokesperson added first responders were able to rescue the horse and driver, both of which were uninjured.
Several images have been made available.
I’m not 100% sure which community this person is from – this is described as near Lawrenceburg, site of a smallish Amish community. Nearby is also the much larger Ethridge settlement.
That water looks pretty deep.
In this one you can see what I assume to be the horse in question, safe on (relatively) dry land. Another report claims that a “group” was rescued, but I’m going with this one by WKRN, as it is more recent, having been updated today.
Great work by the Lawrence County EMA. They and other teams like them may be busy this week, since parts of Tennessee have been threatened by flooding as winter storms dump rain across the region.
Amish Buggies & High Water Don’t Mix…
If you’re feeling a bit of deja vu upon reading this – yes, we have seen this sort of story before – recently, in fact.
Last summer, six Amish people were rescued from floodwaters that had overtaken a road in southern Missouri. The horse made it out as well.
A similar story occurred in 2019 in Wayne County, Ohio, when an Amish girl was rescued from high water in fridgid conditions.
And sadly, there is also the tragic case of five Amish children who lost their lives when the buggy they were traveling in overturned in a flooded creek in Bath County, Kentucky (2020).
For an Amish buggy driver, I can guess at why it might be especially tempting to try to cross waters that at least appear to be cross-able.
Buggies are slow. And it takes a long time to go around a flooded road – sometimes prohibitively long. So you can understand why someone might make a bad judgment call in situations like these.
Man/Horse Swept Off Road
Not blaming anybody here. Guess I’m just wondering why anyone would attempt such a crossing. I stay home when rain or flooding are in the forecast. But perhaps Amish aren’t allowed battery powered radios to check weather conditions?? Just so very glad the gentleman and his horse were rescued. Erik, thanks for bringing us this story.
Why
Only thing I have to say is use common sense. This all could have avoided.