3 Dead in Crash Involving Horse Carriage in Michigan

File photo of an Amish buggy in Michigan. (Ad Meskens/Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)])

A crash involving a horse-drawn carriage and a pickup truck in Michigan has left three dead.

Besides the three children who died, six other people were seriously injured in the crash that took place at around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct 29, near Sheridan, Michigan, Fox 17 reported.

Michigan State Police told the station that a red Dodge Ram was traveling eastward when it hit the carriage and demolished it.

There were nine people inside the carriage when the crash occurred, authorities said.

The victims were identified as a 7-year-old girl, a 9-year-old girl, and a 12-year-old boy, officials told the news outlet. The other victims, who had life-threatening injuries, were taken to local hospitals.

The truck driver, a man from Sheridan, is cooperating with officials. He was wearing his seatbelt and was not injured. It’s unclear if seatbelts were in use in the buggy, WXYZ reported.

The horse was not harmed in the accident.

Troopers said alcohol and drugs weren’t factors in the crash.

Officials didn’t release any more details on the crash, which is still under investigation.

According to Michigan State Law, carriages are considered “traffic“: ”A person riding an animal or driving an animal-drawn vehicle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all the duties, criminal penalties, and civil sanctions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter, except those provisions of this chapter which by their very nature may not have application.”

Sheridan is located about 35 miles northeast of Grand Rapids.

Screenshot via Google Maps