Trooper Injured Saving Amish Child In Runaway Buggy Hailed As Hero (Updated w/Video)

A New York State Police K-9 Handler is being hailed as a hero after he saved a four-year-old Amish girl in a runaway buggy. This actually happened back in May, but there was little-to-no coverage of it – at least none that came across my radar.

Image: Don Burke

Now, the trooper is in the news after being praised for his selfless actions. From the Sun Community News:

On May 16, Trooper James T. Egan Jr. was driving on Route 95 in Moira when he spotted an Amish wagon traveling at a high rate of speed.

The horse appeared to be out of control, running through intersections, with the young child as the sole occupant inside.

Trooper Egan knew the potential dangers to both the public and child and tried to use his patrol vehicle to block and stop the wagon.

After numerous failed attempts, he led the wagon onto a grassy lawn, but the horse refused to stop. Trooper Egan jumped from his vehicle and grabbed the reigns.

It wasn’t until the trooper was pinned between a tree and the wagon, that the horse and wagon finally stopped abruptly.

Egan continued on to check that the child was okay despite being in great pain. The good news is he has made a recovery and is back at work. Officials said that Egan’s “exemplary actions likely saved the child’s life.”

Can’t imagine Trooper Egan had stopping a runaway buggy in mind for his day’s tasks when he woke up that morning. But thank God he was there to answer the call.

Not the first time

This actually isn’t the first time an outsider has stepped in to stop a runaway buggy with an Amish child inside.

In 2020, a Pennsylvania State Trooper stopped a runaway buggy, saving a three-year-old girl inside. We didn’t get a ton of details on that story, other than a couple of grainy images showing Sergeant Lee Bunyak carrying the girl post-rescue:

And just last year, a brave unidentified person stopped a runaway horse-and-buggy in Kentucky, though this one was empty.

There is also the story (Wisconsin) of the horse which bolted with a baby inside the carriage, and was found two hours later, baby thankfully unharmed. You count your blessings when they come.

Update: they have released video of the incident. It’s a bit scary but not graphic. You can see the girl for a few brief moments. Bystanders come up to Trooper Egan afterwards and congratulate him.

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2 Comments

  1. Christina Nunn

    Graber Story

    Hello
    I read and watched some Graber YouTube videos.
    Have you seen https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aaHIEZkeTF4&pp=ygUUYnJlYWtpbmcgdGhlIHNpbGVuY2U%3D
    It’s called Breaking the Silence, a series on YouTube and UPTV about how an Amish Graber family converted to Christians and tried to convert old order Amish to Christians. They ended up silenced and eventually banned due to tradition and culture Joseph Graber edited and directed the video content with his family. It emphasizes the importance of having Jesus at the center of your life.

  2. Kensi

    horses

    I feel so bad for these horses. they aren’t meant to be on busy roads like this.