2 Amish Children Killed, 1 Hurt In Northern MI Buggy Crash: Sheriff

WEXFORD COUNTY, MI — Two Amish children were killed and another was seriously injured Monday after a car struck their buggy in northern Michigan, according to the Wexford County Sheriff's Office.

An 11-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy died in the crash, and a 9-year-old girl was seriously injured, officials said. The 9-year-old was flown to a Grand Rapids hospital, officials said.

All three children were thrown from the buggy, officials said. Police did not release their names.

Officials said the crash happened at a rural northern Michigan intersection north of Cadillac on Monday at 8:15 a.m.

A 48-year-old Manton man was driving east on East 16 Road when he hit the buggy as it traveled south on North 39 Road, officials said.

"The Amish buggy approached the intersection and proceeded to cross through the intersection, pulling into the path of the eastbound vehicle," the sheriff's office said.

The driver of the vehicle and his three passengers were not injured in the crash, officials said.

Officials don't believe speed was a factor in the crash.

Michigan's Amish population has steadily grown over the years to roughly 17,920 residents in 2022, making it the sixth-largest Amish population in the country, according to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College.

Five people were killed in 60 Amish buggy-involved crashes in 2020 and 2021, according to Michigan State Police. Another eight were killed in 135 accidents involving the horse-drawn carriages from 2014 to mid-2019.