Runaway Buggy Hit By Truck: Driver Seriously Injured

The buggy was empty at the time, thankfully (especially after recent stories of runaway buggies with Amish children inside).

However the driver of the truck was seriously injured when it struck the buggy. From WNEM:

CLARE CO., Mich. (WNEM) – A man was injured and a horse died in a crash involving a vehicle and an Amish horse and buggy in Clare County on Friday.

The Clare Central Dispatch Center received several calls reporting a traffic crash on S. Clare Avenue and Dover Road in Grant Township on Friday, Nov. 15, at 7:25 p.m.

According to the Clare County Sheriff’s Office, responding deputies learned a 2005 Ford F-150 – driven by 66-year-old Richard Rodabaugh of Farwell, who had a passenger – was traveling south on Clare Avenue, north of Dover Road, and crashed into a horse and buggy that was traveling north in the roadway.

The sheriff’s office said the buggy was not occupied at the time of the crash.

It sounds like this collision was head-on, if the truck was going south and the buggy going north.

Rodabaugh had to be flown by helicopter to a hospital in Grand Rapids so it seems his injuries were quite serious.

That’s also what you would suppose – going by this photo of the damage to his vehicle:

He was said to be in stable condition as of yesterday.

The horse was killed in the crash, however. The Amish owner explained that the horse got loose from a nearby address. He “was cited under Michigan law for animals running at large.”

I hope the Amish community will lend their support to this injured man in whatever ways they find appropriate. I expect they will.

The Amish Need To Make Sure Their Horses Are Secured

I wouldn’t call runaway buggies “common”. But as we’ve seen by a number of stories over the years, they’re common enough.

It’s easy to criticize drivers who drive recklessly and hit Amish buggies. Too often, Amish people die because of it.

But Amish folks whose horses “get loose” also deserve some criticism.

I wouldn’t call it exactly the same thing. But each is a kind of failure to act safely.

I imagine some horses are better at getting loose than others. But the responsibility for securing their horses is 100% on their Amish owners.

Just as safe driving is the duty of non-Amish motor vehicle operators (and buggy drivers as well, for that matter).

Fortunately this man was not killed – but it could have happened.

For more, see:

• State Trooper Saves Amish Toddler In Runaway Buggy
• Have A Look At This $18,400 Amish Buggy
• “Driverless” Amish Buggy Crashes After Two-Mile Ride
• Inside an Amish Buggy (How it works – Video)
• The Amish Buggy (All About Plain Transportation)
• 3-TIME Drunk Driver Gets 8 Years After Buggy Hit-and-Run