Amish Man Killed In New York State After Horse And Buggy Hit by SUV

Share the roads, people! Even, in this case, if the other drivers aren't all riding in cars or trucks. An accident in upstate New York has left one man dead and another injured after SUV struck a horse and buggy. Police say the accident happened early Sunday morning on Route 11 in the town of Gouverneur, in St. Lawrence County.

Troopers say a 23 year-old Antwerp man named Levi L. Swartzentruber Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene, after the vehicle struck the Amish style buggy. A passenger in the buggy, named Mose Swartzentruber, reportedly suffered minor injuries, and was taken to a nearby hospital. The Swartzentruber Amish are one of the largest and most conservative subgroups of Old Order Amish.

Sadly, the horse was said to have suffered severe injuries after the impact and had to be put down at the scene, according to police.

Scenes like this happen more often than you think, as there are many Amish settlements scattered across New York, Pennsylvania, and parts of the Midwest. You can imagine how it could become quite hazardous for those riding in an open buggy, traveling about near busy roads full of cars and trucks. According to the numbers put together by the Amish Study, New York has over 21 thousand Amish people living in the state, as of 2020. New York ranks fourth in the nation for Amish citizens.

You may remember this bizarre incident that happened in 2015, when a drunk driver crashed his Dodge into a group Amish teens in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In July 2020, it was the Amish driver who was allegedly intoxicated this time, as police say 18 year-old man behind the horse was going too fast, blew a stop sign, and then lost control of his buggy. The accident caused the carriage's occupants to be thrown on to the street.