16-Year-Old Amish Girl Killed When Semi Rear-Ends Buggy On Indiana State Road

A 16-year-old Amish girl named Laura Schwartz was killed when a semi-truck rear-ended the horse-drawn buggy she was riding in. The crash happened early Saturday – the morning of June 6 – in Adams County, Indiana.

It’s been a bad stretch on the roads for the Amish — and this is at least the second Amish teen to lose their life in a buggy wreck in just over a week.

Here’s what happened, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office (via WZBD):

MONROE — A 16-year-old girl was killed and another teenager was injured early Friday morning following a crash involving a horse-drawn buggy and a semi-truck in Adams County.

According to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched at approximately 2:11 a.m. on June 6th to the area of State Road 124 and County Road 200 East for a personal injury crash involving a buggy and a commercial semi-truck.

Investigators said both the buggy and the semi-truck were traveling westbound when, for reasons that remain under investigation, the semi-truck struck the buggy from behind.

The two riders were identified as Laura Schwartz, 16, of rural Decatur, and Joe Schwartz, 16, of rural Monroe. Joe was taken to a hospital for treatment, but sadly Laura was pronounced dead at the scene.

[Note: the day-of-week in the WZBD report (Friday) appears to be an error; the obituary and the report’s own date both confirm Saturday, June 6]

The pictures tell the predictable story of a heavily-damaged buggy – essentially the bare frame and wheels, lying in a field – and a relatively unscathed semi.

The driver of the semi was not injured, and the crash remains under investigation. The horse’s condition was not noted, but I’ll just note that I initially missed it, but the poor thing is just barely visible lying in the grass at left in the crash shot. The outcome there also probably wasn’t good.

Laura’s death comes only about a week after another 16-year-old, David Troyer, was killed in Carroll County, Kentucky — also rear-ended, when a car overtook his open buggy as a group of Amish youth were traveling in the evening while on a fishing trip.

This wreck happened in the heart of the largest Swiss Amish settlement in the country, centered around the town of Berne in Adams County, and home to over 11,000 Amish people. One note: the Schwartz surname is so common here that two people sharing it, as the victims did, does not necessarily mean they were closely related.

And indeed, Laura’s obituary indicates that Joe Schwartz was not a sibling. She leaves behind her parents, three brothers and a “sweet baby sister”, and of course extended family, all of whom must be feeling a great loss. Please consider them in your prayers. Laura’s funeral will be held Tuesday morning.