Five Amish Killed In Van Wreck – After Truck Runs Stop Sign

Another tragedy involving Amish victims in Michigan – but this time there were no buggies involved.

Six people, including five members of an Amish family are confirmed dead after their van they were traveling in was hit by a pickup truck – which ran a stop sign at a rural intersection.

This happened in Tuscola County, MI late Tuesday afternoon. More:

TUSCOLA COUNTY, Mich. (WJRT) – At least six people are dead after a pickup truck crashed into an Amish family’s van at a rural intersection in Tuscola County.

The crash was reported around 4:45 p.m. at the intersection of Vassar and Fairgrove roads in Gilford Township.

The Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office says 10 members of the Amish family were riding in a van west on Fairgrove Road when a pickup truck carrying three people and traveling south on Vassar Road ran a stop sign.

The pickup truck crashed into the van, sending both vehicles careening into a field next to the intersection. Victims were thrown from both vehicles.

The van came to rest on its roof with people pinned inside. Firefighters used hydraulic rescue tools to free them.

Investigators say five members of the Amish family died from their injuries. A sixth person was rushed to an area hospital, where their condition was not available Tuesday evening.

At least one person in the pickup truck also died. Three other people were taken to hospitals for treatment. No identities have been released at this time.

The report includes this detail regarding the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office: “stormy weather in the hours after the crash delayed their investigation.”

Some will recall the catastrophic van wreck in Wisconsin last March, in which nine people died, including seven Amish passengers from a community in Virginia.

While buggy wrecks understandably get the most attention, the Amish frequently use the services of drivers. They commonly transport them on work commutes (e.g. construction crews to and from the jobsite), or, families and groups traveling extended distances for events like weddings or funerals, or to visit relatives in a far-away community.

It may be that this was a group from another community visiting people in the local Amish settlement. The nearest settlement appears to be the Cass City community (which we just looked at here two days ago). It could also be the case of a group returning home or just setting out on a journey.

While they occur with much less frequency, from time to time the Amish are victims in these types of accidents. They have potential to be deadly since they frequently travel in high-capacity vehicles, like 15-passenger vans.

In Iowa in 2023, an Amish man and three young children were killed in a van rollover. In 2014, four Amish lost their lives in Pennsylvania after the van they were in was struck by a cement truck, as they traveled home from a funeral.

This is just a massively tragic event, and yet another deadly road incident for the Amish in Michigan.