Two Amish Hurt, Horse Killed In Car-Buggy Crash (New York)
CLAYTON, NEW YORK: Two Amish people were injured Friday morning when their buggy was rear-ended. This happened in Jefferson County, New York, home to an Amish community of several hundred people.
From the WWNY report:
Two Amish people get hurt after their horse-drawn buggy was hit by a car this morning. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department says that car was driven by Tracy Warren of Shimo.
It hit the back of the buggy, they say, on County Route 54. That’s in the town of Clayton. The injuries to the Amish are non-life threatening.
Sadly, the horse did not survive the accident. The driver was ticketed for following too closely. That’s about all there is to the report.
According to the latest Young Center Amish population figures, Amish have lived in this Jefferson County settlement for twenty years (since 2005), with an estimated 370 Amish people in the community.
Sadly, this is not the first buggy accident for Amish in Jefferson County. A prior crash was one of the saddest you’ll ever hear about.
In 2023, two Amish toddlers, ages 1 and 3, lost their lives when a buggy they were traveling in was rear-ended. It was described by the sheriff as “one of the most tragic accidents that we have seen.”
Two years earlier in the county, an Amish eight-year-old was ejected from the buggy, but had non life-threatening injuries.
Jefferson County’s seat of Watertown was also the site of an incident where an Amish horse got loose and took an empty buggy on a two-mile ride through town, before crashing. Fortunately, no one was hurt in that incident (just the horses, though not seriously).
So the county in its history is no stranger to buggy incidents. It’s always sad when the horse does not survive. But fortunately for the Amish people involved this time, it sounds like they are going to be okay.
Car-Buggy Crash (New York)
Thank goodness the people involved are okay. Yes, it is always said when an innocent animal dies tragically. Wonder if speed was a factor?? Or perhaps the weather was bad & visibility poor?? Whatever the reason(s), at least this story has a happier ending. Thanks Erik.