Driver Without A License Tries To Pass Buggy At “Unsafe Speed”, Fails. Two Amish People Ejected (New York)

So another unsafe driver sent Amish people flying out of their buggy and into the hospital. This one happened in Herkimer County, New York. And it’s another case of driving too fast – and failing to pass.

The injuries are “non-life-threatening”, which I will mention once again, does not mean “non-serious”. Here’s what happened, according to the report at WKTV:

A car collided with an Amish buggy on Cosby Manor Road in Herkimer County, leaving one person injured.

New York State Police reported that Matthew L. Walker, 45, of Remsen, was driving a 2011 Volkswagen Jetta westbound at an unsafe speed when he attempted to pass the buggy.

The collision ejected both buggy occupants.

Moses J. Swartzentruber, 40, of Poland, was unharmed, while Andy J. Troyer, 30, also of Poland, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Wynn Hospital.

The driver got “multiple” traffic tickets for this one. In addition to unsafe passing, he got one for driving without a license.

So it sounds like he shouldn’t have even been behind the wheel – and now hopefully won’t be able to legally drive for a long, long time.

You can also see from the image provided that this was on double yellow lines, on a hill. So taking in all of the above, this guy appears to be guilty on multiple counts of being an idiot.

He’s a lucky idiot though, in that it probably could have been much worse.

And: good news on the horse, as it is reported to be uninjured. Hopefully, the one victim who had to go to hospital has injuries on the lighter side, but you never know from that vague term “non-life-threatening”. But at the least, it sounds like he will survive.

Second Bad Wreck Here In A Month

The Amish of Herkimer County have had bad fortune lately. There are only a relative handful of Amish living in the county – maybe a few hundred split between two communities – but this is the second bad wreck they’ve sustained in just a month.

At the beginning of September, eight people were ejected, with a boy injured and a horse killed, thanks to another bad driver.

Update: List of Charges

The New York State Police website reports that the “investigation is ongoing” and also lists more charges:

Walker was not injured. He was issued multiple traffic tickets including:

•    No License

•    Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the 3rd Degree

•    Failure to Keep Right

•    Unsafe Passing on the Left

•    Unreasonable Speed / Special Hazards

•    Circumvent Interlock – Subject to Court Order – Operate Without Device

The investigation is ongoing.

As to the last charge on the list, “Circumvent Interlock – Subject to Court Order – Operate Without Device”, I believe it’s referring to circumventing a car’s ignition interlock device.

According to Wikipedia:

An ignition interlock device or breath alcohol ignition interlock device (IID or BAIID) is a breathalyzer for an individual’s vehicle. It requires the driver to blow into a mouthpiece on the device before starting or continuing to operate the vehicle.