3 Children Die in 'Horrific Tragedy' After Car Hits Amish Horse-Drawn Buggy in Michigan
Three Amish children died on Wednesday after the horse-drawn buggy they were riding in was involved in a fatal crash on a Michigan highway.
Shortly after 3:00 p.m., local authorities responded to a 911 call “reporting a motor vehicle/horse drawn vehicle crash,” according to a news release from the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office.
After arriving at the scene, authorities found that a car had crashed into the rear of the buggy, which was carrying four children, siblings aged 6-13 from a local family.
Three of the children were found dead at the scene, while a fourth child was “seriously injured” and transported to a local hospital. PEOPLE can confirm that the fourth child, a 6-year-old boy who experienced leg and head injuries, is currently in stable condition.
“It is difficult to find words to describe this horrific tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to the parents who are enduring such unimaginable loss and grief, and also to their extended family and close community,” Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich said in a statement.
“Our Victim Advocates are assisting the family, and we will continue to provide our support and resources. We grieve with them,” he added.
The crash is being investigated by the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Team and Detective Bureau.
The names of all of those involved in the accident have yet to be released.
Jerri Nesbit of the sheriff’s office told PEOPLE on Friday that the injured child is “recovering well.”
“He had a good night and is remaining in stable condition,” she said.
Nesbit added that the driver of the other vehicle, who was transported to a local hospital “for evaluation,” was not found to “have any serious injuries.”
“We don’t know anything about charges — the investigation is still open,” she said, explaining that after the investigation was over, the findings would go to the prosecutor’s office, which would make a determination whether to file charges.
Sheriff Reich told The New York Times that the children, who were not accompanied by an adult, were on their way home from school and were traveling in a rural area. Nesbit tells PEOPLE the children attended a local Amish school.
“A lot of the children ride their buggies to and from school, as well as adults coming in to the town,” Reich told the Times. “That’s their main source of getting around.”
The sheriff went on to note that local residents “need to be more cognizant there will be buggies out there.”
Michigan has the sixth largest Amish population in the United States, according to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College.
Other states with a high number of Amish residents include Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and New York.
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This is the second buggy crash in the state in 2019 involving multiple fatalities, according to the Lansing State Journal.
In June, three children, who were also siblings, died after their buggy was struck by a pickup truck, according to the outlet.
Citing state police, the Lansing State Journal reported that prior to Wednesday, there had been 18 crashes this year alone which involved horse-drawn carriages.
