Vehicle rear-ends Amish buggy in Logan; 7 hurt

Seven members of an Amish family were taken to two hospitals Tuesday night after the horse-drawn buggy they were in was rear-ended by a Jeep Grand Cherokee on Ohio 47.

Wagler Schwartz and six members of his family were in the carriage on Ohio 47, west of Ohio 235 in Pleasant Twp., when the accident occurred at about 7:53 p.m., according to the Ohio Highway Patrol post at Marysville.

Curtis Johnson, 48, of Sidney, told troopers that the sun obscured his vision as he was driving his 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee and he didn’t see the buggy until it was too late, according to Sgt. Tim Henn.

Johnson was cited for failure to maintain assured clear distance and released, Henn said.

Six of the people in the carriage were taken to Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine, suffering from minor injuries. The seventh was taken to Wilson Memorial Hospital in Sidney, suffering from a possible head wound, according to Henn.

Whether the horse was injured was not immediately clear.

According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the state reports that on average, there are more than 120 buggy accidents a year.

Earlier this month, four people were injured when an SUV slammed into the back of Amish buggy southwest of Cleveland. WJW-TV reported that a 2-year-old child and a woman in the carriage were taken to hospitals, along with two people in the SUV.