Amish Mother, 3 Children Lose Lives in Tractor Rollover

Tragic happening in York County, PA (the area across the Susquehanna which is considered part of the Lancaster County settlement). The York Daily Record gives an account of the accident, which happened Friday morning, and the community’s response thus far:

Friday morning, Amos Stoltzfus dropped off some of his wife’s fresh-cut flowers at the Country View Market on Route 74, not far from their home in Brogue.

His wife, Katie Ann, has a large flower garden at their farm, selling them at an honor stand at the end of their driveway and supplying some local florists with sunflowers, zinnias, hydrangeas, gladiolas and black-eyed Susans. One local florist who sells Katie’s wares said she had a magic touch when it came to growing flowers. They were always beautiful, she said.

As he dropped off the flowers, setting the bouquets in a wooden display case at the front of the market, he chatted with the proprietor of the Amish-owned market, saying he and his family were planning an outing that afternoon, heading to Otter Creek for a picnic and some fishing.

…

Amos steered the tractor down the hill, navigating the curves on Furnace Road as they descended to the creek. Something happened at one curve, a hard right. The tractor and trailer went off the road to the left, striking a tree and tumbling down a steep 30-foot-or-so embankment.

Katie, 36, and two of their daughters, 14-year-old Mary Etta and 7-year-old Naomi Rose, were killed, as was one of Amos’ nephews, Caleb Emmanuel Fisher, 9, who was visiting from Lancaster County. Amos and the other children were injured and, according to neighbors, at least two remained in critical condition.

You see Amish families out in these tractor-trailer rides. It’s a popular form of family outing in some communities. How tragic that what was meant to be happy family excursion ended up like this. The Daily Voice offers further details:

Katie Ann Stoltzfus, 36, two of her daughters, Mary Etta, 14, and Naomi Rose, 7, all of Brogue, and Caleb Emmanuel Fisher, 9, of Lancaster, all died from blunt force trauma at the scene of the accidental farm tractor rollover crash in the 1100 block of Furnace Road near the intersection at Indian Steps Road in Lower Chanceford Township around 11:15 a.m., on Friday, July 29, according to Pennsylvania state police and the York County coroner’s office.

The four victims were pronounced deceased at 1:30 p.m. that day by Deputy coroners Carissa McLyman and Karen Frank, who were assisted by Deputy Coroner in-training Scott Pennewell.

“An older-model farm tractor was pulling a flatbed, open utility trailer,” state police say. “Twelve individuals were riding in the trailer when the operator of the tractor traveled off the roadway and over an embankment, causing the tractor and trailer to roll.”

Six others— including more children— were taken to area hospitals by ambulances and helicopters, and the man operating the farm tractor was transported from the scene in serious condition, according to an updated release by Pennsylvania state police.

Katie Anne was apparently known and well-loved in the community. The non-Amish community has responded by organizing a fundraiser, among other efforts:

“They’re just like anyone else anymore,” said Lisa Grove, who, with her husband, Cory, runs G’s Concessions from their home in New Bridgeville. “They’ll come to birthday parties and other things. They just don’t keep to the Amish community.”

And, she said, when a neighbor needs help, the Amish are often among the first to show up. When a neighbor loses a barn to a fire, the Amish show up to help rebuild.

“I just know, if it were reversed, they would help us,” Lisa Grove said. “They’ll help anybody who needs help. It doesn’t matter if they’re Amish or ‘English.’”

And now that the Stoltzfus family needs help – the medical bills could be, as one neighbor said, “astronomical” − the community is banding together to help.

…

Within hours of hearing about the tragedy – the Groves heard the sirens from their home about five miles away on Friday, but only learned on Saturday morning that the accident involved people they knew – they began organizing a fundraiser.

By Saturday night, they had put together a plan, and as the weekend passed, they got commitments from at least eight other concessionaires and food trucks. They spent Monday visiting local businesses, asking for gift cards or items to be raffled off to raise money for the families involved in the tragedy.

The event is planned for 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the New Bridgeville Fire Company. It took a brief phone call to secure the assistance of the fire company, which was the first of the first responders to arrive at the site of the accident. Lisa Grove called the chief, Ronnie Witmer, and his response was “Whatever you need, I’ll make it happen.”

Amos is described as being in “serious” condition. I can’t imagine the grief that must be upon him right now. And of course the rest of his family. If you’d like to help – I’m not seeing any online fundraisers or info on where to send assistance at present. I’ll update this with that info if and when it is provided.

Update (Aug. 4): Fourth Child Passes Away Following Tractor Accident; Three Children Remain Hospitalized

An update today brought sad news following the tractor rollover accident in York County, PA last Friday. A fourth child, a four-year-old brother of another boy who had died in the accident, has passed away. From the York Daily Record:

Jeffrey Ryan Fisher, of Lancaster County, died Tuesday from multiple traumatic injuries, spokesman Brett Hambright said. The manner is accidental.

Jeffrey is a younger brother of 9-year-old Caleb Emmanuel Fisher, who died at the scene of the accident in Lower Chanceford Township on Friday, according to an obituary in LancasterOnline.

Five people now have perished as a result of the crash. State police say an old farm tractor pulling a flatbed trailer left the roadway and traveled down an embankment. Both overturned. One adult and 11 children were riding in the trailer.

From what I can tell, three children remain in hospital. One was treated and released, according to the article. There is no word on the condition of Amos Stoltzfus, who was driving the tractor at the time of the accident, and whose wife and two children perished in the event. He was described as being in “serious” condition and is assumed to be still in the hospital.

Someone has passed on a donation link via the Amish America Facebook page. So I had a look, and this is not on a major donation platform but seems to be run by a non-Amish farming family (Daily Crisis Farm) who knows the family(ies) affected.

It’s described as a donation for the “King Family”, though the last name of the two families mentioned are Stoltzfus and Fisher. However, Katie Anne’s maiden name is King, and the fundraiser to be held tomorrow at a local fire company is described as for the “Stoltzfus King Fisher” families. Here’s a note from the donation page:

A heavy read, but a family could use your help. If you know our farm you know their craftsmanship, the main dairy, the roof on the house, the pig barn and the addition to our cheese shed. When got sick, they whipped up a chicken house in a week at cost to insure her a healthy environment and to keep her critters. Harvest a few years back, we went and helped drive horses to get their corn in and on brithdays we swap who buys the pizzas.

*The King Family of E&D construction is more than a crew of Amish, but also our family by choice. One of the sweetest groups of humans that we should all aspire to be. They have been a constant in our DCF world for over 10 years and now they need our help.

*Friday, July 29th, an accident took 3 children (5 still hospitalize), the mother, and left the father badly hurt. We are praying as we wait on more information.
*Our hearts breaks for them as they are just like our own family. We would like to help them out, they have a herd of milk cows needing tended, a flower field & crops to bring in and medical bills that will surely add fast.
* We have set up a link in our bio for donations. Or you can direct venmo us and we will get them 100% of the donations.

So, that is the only online donation link I have found. I asked the person who shared it for further info, but I don’t have a reason to think this is not legitimate, for what it’s worth.

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