Buggy Failed To Stop In Fatal Lancaster County Accident; More Details (Updated)

Some more details have emerged following yesterday’s fatal buggy-truck accident in southern Lancaster County. First is that there are now just three fatalities being reported, contrary to the initial report of four: “Police initially said four people were killed, but later said the ‘initial release of information regarding the number of fatalities was incorrect.'”

There were seven minors in the buggy which was hit yesterday morning around 8 AM south of Quarryville. The four survivors were hospitalized.

According to police, the accident occurred when the buggy failed to stop at a stop sign:

The buggy driver failed to stop at a stop sign and went into an intersection, where the truck hit the buggy on the passenger side, police said. The four injured occupants were taken to a hospital. The truck driver, who was not injured, remained at the scene and spoke with police, troopers said.

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This is important because the public reflex is usually to blame the motor vehicle driver in such accidents. It sounds like the truck driver is not at fault in any way here. There is no indication in reports of why the buggy may have failed to stop at the stop sign.

Update: This is from a Facebook comment, so take it for what it’s worth, but a commenter suggests what may have happened:

According to the guy that lives near this intersection, there are blind spots that impairs any driver from seeing when stopped at the intersection. He also said that goes for cars too, blind spots.
So more than likely the Amish driver of the buggy thought he was safe to cross the intersection but because of the blind spot didn’t know the garbage truck was approaching also.

And while motor vehicle drivers are often found to be at fault, that is not nearly always the case. To that point, a separate report emerged today of a serious accident in Ohio, when a buggy also failed to stop at a stop sign this past Saturday.

Finally, the children who lost their lives have been identified. They were siblings – an older brother, and two younger sisters. Here is the obituary for the King children, ages 15, 13, and 6. Condolences to their family and loved ones. Difficult to imagine.