5-Year-Old Girl Ejected From Buggy In Crash
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Amish Child Injured In Buggy Crash
A 5-year-old girl is in critical condition after the buggy in which she was riding was involved in a crash with a tanker.
NBC 4
UPDATE: Troopers release additional information after a young Amish girl is critically injured in a crash with a tanker truck.
MARTINSBURG, Ohio—A 5-year-old Amish girl remained in critical condition Tuesday evening after the buggy in which she was riding was involved in a crash with a tanker.
NBC 4’s Mike Bowersock reported with the FAST FACTS.
The crash happened on state Route 62 at Deal Road at about 9:10 a.m.
A horse-drawn buggy was traveling northbound on S.R. 62 with three Amish girls inside. The girls’ ages are 17, 14 and 5.
Joseph A Scarano, 46, of Woodland, TX, was driving a tanker with a load of plastic northbound on S.R. 62.
Scarano was passing the buggy when the buggy turned left in front of him, a report said.
The 5-year-old was ejected from the buggy and was trapped under the tanker.
“By the time I got here the girl was still underneath the truck,“ Bladensburg Fire Chief Nick Cockrell said.
EMS technicians worked to extricate the child for about 45 minutes.
She was transported to Nationwide Children’s Hospital by medical helicopter. The girl remained in critical condition at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The 17-year-old and 14-year-old both received minor injuries.
Scarano was not injured.
The Ohio Highway Patrol said the buggy did not have the reflective placard on the back, as required by law. There was no indication the placard would have made a difference in the crash.
Motor-vehicle-versus-horse-drawn-buggy crashes have been on the rise in recent years.
There have been 99 crashes so far this year. Before today’s incident, there had been 46 injuries in the same type of crash during 2009.
In north Central Ohio there is a constant potential for an unintended and unplanned meeting.
“It’s hilly and curvy around here. So you don’t see ’em. They’re coming around the curves at night time, and they’ll just be there,“ said Amish Country resident Evelyn Butler.
S.R. 62 was closed at Deal Road during the initial crash investigation.
The Mt. Gilead post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol continued to investigate.
OSP and NBC 4 initially reported there were three vehicles involved in the crash. Initial reports indicated the child was 8 years old. A report from OSP received later in the day confirmed she is 5 years old.
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Just came home from Children’s, I took her Uncle and Aunt up to stay the night and brought back her grandfather and 2 of her sisters that were visiting today. So she has a wonderful family support system!! Lydian is doing well, her mother told me the ventilator came out today and she was fighting the Doctors and Nurses (which is good) and she is having surgery on Monday for her hip. Her father told me there is a fund through Children’s Hospital at National City Bank but he really doesn’t know where it came from. Also, I’m taking her uncle Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week to set up a fund at Huntington in Newark. Please keep them in your prayers!!!
amishfriend, How is Lydia doing? Is she getting any better?
animalrights88, You have done a lot of research on this story. I am sure by now that you realize that Mount Vernon News is a newspaper. Tuesday morning’s story was as accurate as anyone else at the time. Wednesday morning’s story was the updated version. Have a great day!
And please stop fighting…Lydian and her family wouldnt want this. They are good people. It was an accident and it happened use your energy to pray for Lydian, her family and the driver no-one ment for this to happen, who cares who is right or wrong it happened its done and over. Just pray for this precious little girl her family and the driver who is just as upset.
I just spoke to Lydiann’s father. He is ok with a fund to be set up as long as its not solicited and “only people giving out of the goodness of their own heart”. I will work on a fund for her and the family tomorrow…Hopefully NBC4 will let me post…
interested-
It looks to me from their archives they never updated it, the article STILL says 8 years old. Informative? I think you meant Incorrect, and MISinformative. And as for your ignorant comment about my screen name, I realize ACCIDENTS happen regarding animals being hit by vehicles or other mishaps. I do NOT agree with animal abuse, euthanization, or animal testing. But, my views and opinions are the least of your ignorant wonders. I pity your stupidity and i pity anyone who reads that newspaper and are filled with incorrect information, that is NOT updated or corrected. have a GREAT day.
Pats - These roads are not “Amish-Friendly” in the sense of the speed limits. Even though it doesn’t sound that pivotal, it is. Buggies don’t go any faster than 10 mph. I don’t know the speed limit for this road, but I know its at least 25. Had the truck slown down when cresting the hill to meet the buggy, when the breaks would have been applied there would have been a wreck with the momentum effect of a 36 ton truck going say 30 mph.
Jazzcat - I have driven on this road before but I do not drive it on a regular basis. Where in the story does it say that he came around a curve and the buggy was there and he had to swerve to keep from hitting it? This story does not say that, it just says that he was “passing the buggy when the buggy turned left in front of him”. I’m basing my opinion on this story and not adding in any assumptions on why the truck driver might have done this other than what this story says. If there is another story out there that specifically says that the truck driver came around a turn and unexpectedly saw the buggy at the last second and had to swerve out of the way to keep from hitting the buggy which is why he was in the wrong lane and the buggy turned in front of him, then that changes my opinion. If this is what actually happened then I believe it was not the truck drivers fault. But based on this story alone it does not say that.
Patriots: have you ever driven this road before? I, as well as other posters on this thread, drive it on a regular basis.
“BUT had the truck been behind the buggy in the “correct” lane this would not have happened. So now instead of showing up to make his delivery 5 or 10 minutes late, because of his actions he was hours late if he even made it at all and to top it off a little girl is in the hospital fighting for her life.“
NO. Had the truck been in the “correct” lane, he would have plowed head-on into the buggy.
Imagine this scenario: you are driving at 50 MPH (speed limit 55) over a hill. Just as you get over the hill, you see an Amish buggy in your path. Because of your speed (which is below the limit, BTW), it is impossible to stop in time to avoid an accident.
Do you think, “Uh-oh this is NOT A PASSING ZONE so I will stay in this lane and plow into this buggy!“
Or do you think, “Ok, I need to avoid this buggy and there is no oncoming traffic, so I’ll swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid it!“
From your previous posts I believe you would simply stay in the lane and plow into the buggy. Is this correct?
BrianLC - No my comment was not directed to you. It was in response the comment that said that Amish “don’t pay any road taxes”, “our roads”, and if we hit them we shouldn’t be held responsible”.
Vth_Avenue - I understand and agree that they can be an inconvenience, but so is being behind old people with a walker in the grocery store, school buses, trash trucks, etc. You got to learn to suck it up and be respectful to everyone. I also understand that truck drivers and people in general have places that they need to get to pronto, but you can’t visit your “pressing needs” on other people. It’s not anyone else’s problem. Would you rather make it somewhere safely or would do you rather break all the laws getting there and if something happens say “well I needed to get somewhere pronto, they should have moved”?
Yes this buggy turned in front of this truck and should have paid more attention, BUT had the truck been behind the buggy in the “correct” lane this would not have happened. So now instead of showing up to make his delivery 5 or 10 minutes late, because of his actions he was hours late if he even made it at all and to top it off a little girl is in the hospital fighting for her life. Was it worth it?
It seems to me after reading the entire thread that there isn’t going to be an agreement on this issue but that passing in a no passing zone is a focus point. It occured to me that perhaps the truck was passing in a no passing zone to avoid hitting the buggy and the driver wasn’t aware of the impending consequences of what was behind her. The speed differance between the buggy and the truck is a huge factor. The drivers of both vehicles had no way of knowing what was coming and the truck driver had to make an immediate choice. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as one of those “almost happened”. It DID happen. To those of you who say that the Amish are somehow at fault, I say “what an unfortunate opinion”. If, given the warnings that there are slow moving vehicles (horse drawn) we all should be aware. The driver was from Texas and not familiar with the area, but in was an accident. Just that. Nothing less, nothing more. Neither party would have chosen the outcome. To those who say logistics and deliveries are important and must be done in a speedy manner, I agree because I’m a Logistics Manager, BUT all drivers should be forwarned of the areas they are traveling through, just like the warnings for the large cities are provided for the drivers.
I don’t live in the area, so not familiar with the terrain but I have driven through Amish country in PA and was quite aware that there were buggies around that needed to be part of my driving decisions. Put aside the Amish part of this and just realize it was an unfortunate accident. I agree that in this area, there should be special lanes for buggies or this type of accident will continue to happen.
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