Two years ago, three Amish children lost their lives on a road in southern Michigan, having been rear-ended by a drunk driver while traveling by buggy. The driver has now been sentenced. From WMMT:

COLDWATER, MI (WNWN/WTVB) – A Fremont, Indiana man was ordered to serve between 42 months and 15 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections on Wednesday in Branch County Circuit Court after he entered a no contest plea to a charge of O.W.I. Causing Death in connection with a June 2019 crash which took the lives of three children as well as a unborn child.

23-year-old Tyler Frye entered into a plea agreement that was worked out by Prosecutor Zach Stempien and defense attorney Fred Taylor.

In exchange for Frye’s plea, all other charges were dismissed by prosecutors. Frye was given credit for 14 days already served in the Branch County Jail. He remanded immediately to the Department of Corrections.

Photo: Don Reid/The Daily Reporter

In addition to the other injured members of the family, there appears to have been a fourth fatal victim, which wasn’t evident at the time of the crash:

Michigan State Police said at the time of the crash that 6-year-old Lillian Graber, 4-year-old Moses Graber and 2-year-old Jacob Graber died after a pickup truck driven by Frye hit the back of their Amish horse-drawn carriage on Kelley Road south of Lester Road.

The mother of the fatal victims was pregnant and lost her baby. She along with another child were seriously injured.

At the time of our original post on this, reader CoraVee wrote:

This happened a few miles from where I live. I know the Amish family and the family of the driver, although neither family very well. Just think how you would feel if your son did this. The Fryes are a Christian family, attending my church, a very solid, Bible teaching, loving church. Imagine if your child did this, and don’t say it would be impossible (unless you don’t have kids.) There but for the grace of God go any of us. Just pray for every single person involved–imagine being the emergency personnel, for instance. This is hard on the whole community which encompasses Branch and Hillsdale counties, MI, Steuben Co IN and happened only a few miles from Williams Co, OH.

God have His hand of mercy on the Graber family as well as the Frye.

I’m no judge, but I am frankly surprised at the length of this sentence, especially on the lower end. Though there is also the lifelong sentence of knowing you caused the deaths of four young lives that this young man will serve. I appreciate CoraVee’s words here.

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