3 Amish children killed after car hits horse-drawn buggy

Three Amish siblings were killed and a fourth was seriously injured when a car rear-ended their horse-drawn buggy in Michigan, authorities said.

The children, ages 6 to 13, were traveling home from school Wednesday when their buggy was struck from behind near Charlotte in Chester Township. Three of the children were pronounced dead at the scene, while the fourth was taken a hospital, Eaton County Sheriff Tim Reich said.

“It’s difficult to find words to describe this horrific tragedy,” Reich said in a statement. “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.”

The children who died in the wreck were described as two girls and a boy, while the surviving child is a 6-year-old boy, WOOD reports. They were not immediately identified, but the 6-year-old boy was listed in stable condition as of Thursday with injuries to his head and legs.

“He had a good night and is stable,” Jerri Nesbitt, Reich’s assistant, told The Post.

Investigators said the victims are believed to members of the area’s Amish community, which was rocked by a crash in June involving a pickup truck and a horse-drawn buggy, killing three siblings in Branch County, the Lansing State Journal reports.

“I bawled all the way home,” Kevin Newton, who drives for the local Amish community, told the outlet. “They’ve got to do something, pass a law or something. They should have more signs out.”

Newton questioned how many fatalities must happen before drivers get the message to drive more carefully in the area.

“They ain’t got a chance,” Newton told WOOD of Amish passengers in buggies if involved in car crashes. “They ain’t got a chance in heck … What’s it going to take for people to slow down? Slow down! This is Amish country.”

The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash was taken to a hospital for further evaluation, Reich said.