Pickup Truck Attempts To Pass Buggy…And Fails. Amish Driver Ejected & Horse Injured (Maine)

That buggy and debris trail look pretty bad. Fortunately, the Amish victim’s injuries are called “non-life-threatening”. Hopefully the same can be said for the horse, but that’s less clear (more on that below).

This happened yesterday (Friday, September 12) in a community in Aroostook County, Maine. This massive county is home to no less than four separate Amish settlements.

This happened in the Amish settlement at Sherman, the second-largest in the state at around 200 people. Here’s the report via WGAN:

A crash between a horse-drawn Amish buggy and a pickup truck left one person with minor injuries.

Police say the sole occupant of the buggy was injured when a Toyota Tundra tried to pass them on Benedicta Road in Sherman just before 8 a.m. Friday before they struck the wagon.

The buggy occupant was taken to Houlton Regional Hospital with non life threatening injuries.

Their wagon was destroyed in the crash, which also left the horse with a laceration to its leg and foot.

The driver was charged with “driving to endanger.” Further explanation comes from the Maine State Police, who have also posted about it.

They find that the passing attempt was made without enough room to safely complete it:

The initial investigation indicates the driver of a 2003 Toyota pickup attempted to pass the horse and wagon, which were traveling in the same direction, but reported she did not have enough room to safely do so and struck the wagon.

The male operator of the wagon was ejected and landed on the roadway. He was transported to Houlton Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Passing without enough room can indicate someone getting frustrated behind a slow buggy, and perhaps trying to pass in an area with insufficient visibility of oncoming traffic.

Based on the single photo released of the wreck, it looks like the crash occurred in an area with double-yellow lines.

As for the horse, hopefully that laceration is heal-able and it doesn’t have to be put down. There is no suggestion that it was, so maybe it will be okay too.

Maine Buggy Accidents

Maine is a low-Amish-population state (though it is growing) which has seen its share of buggy accidents in recent years.

For example, this 2020 accident (Smyrna) where a young Amish man lost his life, or this 2024 wreck (Bradford) where three Amish were injured and a horse had to be put down, or this 2023 wreck (Whitefield) where a one-month-old Amish baby was thrown from the buggy and injured (minor, thankfully).

The state created a law back in 2019 requiring lights and reflective material on buggies. Of course that is only one piece of the puzzle and does not address dangerous driving.

One glaring recent example of that was the crash this past February where a driver fleeing police reached speeds of 90mph before crashing into an Amish wagon carrying six children. Somehow – miraculously? – no one was hurt.