Accidents between Amish buggies and motor vehicles do not happen that often ... but it is sad when they do tangle. With the nearby Rockingham County Old-Order Mennonite population out and about in the Dayton area west of Harrisonburg, I am sometimes amazed there are not more accidents.
In Hartsgrove Township, Ohio, home of a large Amish community, four Amish children on their way to school in a horse-and-buggy Thursday morning were broadsided by a vehicle whose driver had been temporarily blinded by the sun and ran a stop sign.
The accident killed seven-year-old Myron Miller and left his three brothers, ages 9, 11, and 13, in critical condition. The horse pulling the buggy was also killed.
Our prayers go out to this family and this community.
3 comments:
It truly is amazing it doesn't happen more often. I live in the thick of it and have seen so many near accidents. Sometimes it's vehicle drivers trying to pass when they can't see around the buggy and other times it's buggy drivers not even looking or horsed that don't want to stop. The scariest thing of all is driving when the school lets out. All those little kids on bikes...They will stop in the middle of the road right over the crest of a hill. There is no way to see them.
Best thing to do is say a prayer when driving in the Dayton area.
I agree, Meagan. Our back roads are narrow with blind curves and hills -- we certainly do not live in the flat lands -- and the buggies also travel Rts. 42 and 11 where motor vehicles speed past them as they clop-clop along.
I am glad the two worlds can co-exist, but a prayer certainly doesn't hurt especially when tourists unfamiliar with the area are here and traffic on the roadways is heavy.
Meanwhile, a family in Ohio is in anguish today. So sad....
It is way past time that Amish people are forced to obey the same laws the rest of us do. There were so many problems with that accident I dont know where to begin. Yes the van driver was at fault. Howerver, that does not excuse the fact that the oldest boy on that horse drawn cart was only 13! Those boys should have seen that van coming if they were paying attention! I know that intersection. Amish drivers should be 16 and licensed the same as us. Second all powered vehicles should have required saftey equipment (seat belts) even if that vehicle is powered by a horse. All power vehicles should be registered (license plates). All powered vehicles should meet a min. crash saftey standard, which I admit that there is no way a buggy would pass and therefore it should not be allowed on our public roads where someone who hits it will then be charged with manslaughter. All powered vehicles should be forced to carry liability insurance. The Amish should NOT be allowed to hide behind a religion they follow only when it benifits them. Get rid of that quaint picture you have of Amish..they now have cell phones...enough said
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