Fireworks Cause 2-Buggy Collision
This is being reported by Ashland County Pictures, a news-oriented Facebook page focusing on Ashland County, Ohio:
On 7-04-2021 around 10:07pm the Ashland Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol, Ashland County Sheriff’s Office along with the Polk Fire Department & EMS responded to a two Amish Buggy Crash on County Road 175 just North of State Route 604.
An Ashland Post Trooper said two Amish Buggy were traveling South on Ashland County Road 175 when Fireworks were set off scaring the horse.
The 19-year-old Amish girl later identified as Sarah Shetler of Ashland could not control the frighten horse and it collided with another buggy before going off the side of the road.
Sarah Shetler was ejected from the buggy and sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to Samaritan Hospital by Polk EMS.
Mike Sparks, who has shared photos here before, commented on this that “Glad nobody was seriously hurt. I know exactly where this happened. This is smack dab in the center of the Swartzentruber Amish settlement, also known as the Lodi Amish. County Road 175 is a heavily traveled road for the Amish.”
I hadn’t come across many if any accidents involving two buggies colliding. I’m sure they happen, but probably largely go unreported. This one also didn’t make the regular news media, it appears. I suppose the evening of July 4th is probably not the best time to be on the road with a horse. Good the girl’s injuries don’t sound to be too serious.
Horses
I can only pray that the poor horses pulling the 2 buggies were spared. Fireworks and many horses (even inside their own barns) don’t mix well.
This is so sad.
Bad Time to take a buggy ride.
Lots of horses spook at fireworks. Mine spooks when trucks use there Jake brakes, or at anything that would normally startle a person. I wonder if it was some Amish boys setting off those fireworks as the horse was going by, knowing it would get startled. I know how difficult it is for a man to get back control of a spooked horse. Its got to be much more difficult for a women to pull the horses head back to get him to stop. The other problem with Amish buggies is that they use narrow rim wheels. And when you try to use the brakes, the wheels don’t have enough traction to stop the horse, especially with steel rims. The buggy just slides along. Also those buggies can’t make a full 90 degree turn like marathon wagons can. Amish buggies have a very limited turning radius. So if the horse spooks and decides to make a hard turn left or right, the buggy can easily flip over. That’s why I switched to using a wagon that uses trailer tires and has a front axle that can turn a full 90 degrees. If my horse spooks, I just need to hold the brake pedal down. He can still drag the wagon with the wheels locked, but only at about 2 mph. And maybe only for a few feet. With an Amish buggy, a serious spook could definitely would be life threatening.
Collision
Thank God the young is okay.