Brother & Sister Lost Their Lives In Van Crash Involving Buggies Carrying 9 Amish Children (New York)
State Police have identified the two children killed in last Friday’s buggy crash in Oswego County, New York. It turns out that they are brother and sister.
Anna J. Hershberger, 13, and Moses J. Hershberger, 7, were pronounced dead at the scene. There is a bit of good news in the new reports: a 9-year-old girl who was critically injured is now listed in stable condition, though she remains hospitalized.
The crash happened around 9:16 a.m. on Friday, September 25 in the town of Richland. A van traveling south struck two buggies going the same direction, with nine children riding between them.
The Times Union reports:
“There were no adults in the Amish buggies at the time of the crash,” State Police spokeswoman Jennifer Jiron said. “Who was operating them is still part of our ongoing investigation.”
Thirteen-year-old Anna J. Hershberger and Moses J. Hershberger, 7, were killed on impact and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The children were siblings who lived on a nearby vegetable farm, said Oswego County Legislator Edward Gilson, who represents the area.
The “no parents aboard” detail is going to shock some people, but it’s hardly uncommon in Amish buggies. Anna was age 13, and may have been the one driving. I say that because Amish children start driving them at younger ages than 13, and she was the oldest in that buggy (more on that below).
The Times Union also notes that it could not determine whether any local laws restrict minors from driving buggies. Generally that’s not the case, and laws around operating horse-drawn vehicles are something of a gray area that has drawn attention in the past.
A State Police update released Monday lays out who was riding in each buggy:
The first buggy was occupied by five children. Four boys, ages 6, 7, 8, and 11, were transported for evaluation and were listed in stable condition with minor injuries.
Emma Swartzentruber, age 9, was transported to Upstate University Hospital in critical condition. As of September 28, 2026, Emma is listed in stable condition but remains in the hospital.
The second buggy, which was the first of the two buggies struck by the Dodge, was occupied by four children. Anna J. Hershberger, age 13, and Moses J. Hershberger, age 7, were pronounced deceased at the scene.
A 10-year-old male sustained serious, non-life-threatening injuries. An 8-year-old female was not injured.
More than 100 people attended the children’s funeral Monday morning, including Amish families who traveled long distances by Greyhound bus, and by horse and buggy. I am sorry for these parents, and given how many children were involved, I guess you have to say thank God it wasn’t worse.
Local Official Wants Action On Speeding
Gilson told the paper he plans to pursue legislative action to curb speeding in the area where the children died:
“People are driving too fast, too carelessly,” he said. “You come up on buggies going 5 mph and you’re right on top of them.”
That might be taken to suggest the driver in this case, a 47-year-old woman from Sandy Creek, NY, was speeding. However, police have not said how fast the van was traveling, nor what caused it to strike the buggies.
The investigation is ongoing, and no charges have been filed. This crash came twelve days after a pickup truck struck a buggy carrying 10 people in Canton, in St. Lawrence County, killing a 78-year-old grandmother and her 4-year-old grandson. It’s been a bad stretch for Amish buggy riders on the roads in upstate New York.
Van driver
I see that law enforcement and the writer of article both failed to mention that the van driver hit a mailbox prior to the buggys. Which sits much further off the road then those wagons. Any local knows share the road
Why is there bias against the Amish in these articles? Why did it need to be pointed out that no adults were in the buggy like that might have changed anything? Both buggies were hit from behind, by someone that apparently didn’t apply the brakes even after striking the first buggy. Someone local enough to know that Amish buggies occupy the roads, that children are on the roads. Yet you highlight, “No adults in the buggies” guilting the parents of two dead children! Shame on you! When this father and mother feel more compassion towards the driver that you all apparently feel towards them. May the Good Lord Jesus show His compassion towards the Hershberger family.
I hear you. It was not my intention to point blame to the parents – but, I see how it can be taken that way. It was a new detail that I felt was worth pointing out. To be frank, I’ve probably been reading too many of these crash reports lately, I hate to say.
I do think age and qualifications of these young buggy drivers is a safety issue that ought to get a harder look in general, even if it did not come into play in this crash, where not all details are known. I have adjusted the title, though have left that detail within the post, as well as my comments on how prevalent that practice is.