From the Akron Beacon Journal:

An Amish horse and buggy driver was killed after a crash with a pickup truck Thursday morning.

Edna Keim, a 17-year-old girl from Homerville, died in the crash.

According to a news release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the crash happened on state Route 301, north of U.S. Route 224 in Homer Township. The Medina Post is investigating the crash.

A 2013 Ford F-150 was heading north on Route 301 when it struck an Amish horse and buggy in the rear, according to the news release. The crash happened at about 7:15 a.m.

Keim, the driver of the horse and buggy, was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General, where she later died.

The truck was driven by a 26-year-old male. The crash is under investigation, but “According to the patrol, alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash.”

Homerville is in the large Swartzentruber Amish settlement lying a short drive from the Holmes/Wayne County community. It’s the community where Amish – those here don’t use the SMV triangle – several years ago tried an unusual innovation to improve buggy visibility, variations of which I later came across in other Swartzentruber settlements. Prior to this, an Amishman in the community had been in a near-unbelievable total of 14 buggy accidents in his 54 years on the planet.

Sadly for her family and community, Edna Keim only got 17 years on the planet. And it’s possible that came down to someone’s decision to drive while impaired. With alcohol involved, it matters even less what particular attention-getting implement you attach to the back of your slow-moving buggy. Condolences to Edna’s family.

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