Amish woman and horse dead after buggy is rear-ended by semi — not 'uncommon,' police say

A woman and horse were killed and another man injured after a semi truck rear-ended an Amish buggy in Wisconsin, according to WISC.

Two Amish siblings traveled along a state highway until they were hit from behind by a 39-year-old man from Oklahoma. The pair were ejected from the open-top buggy, with one passenger, a 30-year-old man, taken to a hospital. The buggy was destroyed and the semi truck reportedly sustained moderate damage, but the driver was not injured.

"I wouldn't say they're are uncommon, unfortunately," said Lafayette County Sheriff Reg Gill of buggy accidents. "Our dispatch center was called about a semi versus buggy crash that occurred out on State Highway 81," he continued.

"We do have a very large Amish community here in Lafayette County, and we do from time to time see these crashes," the sheriff added.

The sheriff explained that the siblings were believed to be returning from an Amish get-together where the elders and youth have separate parties.

The roads "see buggy traffic almost any time of day," Gill explained. "This particular evening there was a gathering up towards Platteville, Wisconsin, and these young people were traveling back home at that time. They have gatherings for the younger people and gathering for the elders and families, which usually ends sooner, and then these particular ones go a little later."

Wisconsin law states the buggies are required to have two red rear lights, two yellow or amber strobe lights, and "slow-moving vehicle" emblems on the vehicles' rear. The sheriff said the buggy did indeed have the LED lights but that the investigation was still ongoing.

In October 2021, a crash in Grant County, Wisconsin, involving a minivan and an Amish buggy killed two people, including a child, after a rear-ending threw five people from the buggy, according to KCRG.

The next month, eight Amish were injured and one died in north-central Wisconsin when a buggy was again rear-ended at “highway speeds,” according to KARE 11. The 35-year-old driver was arrested for suspicion of operating under the influence of a controlled substance and inattentive driving, according to authorities.

The Wisconsin Amish community is the fourth-largest in North America, with a population of over 15,000, according to Amish America. With nearly four dozen settlements, the oldest community in the region is called the Medford Amish settlement and dates back to 1920.