One dead, six injured after pickup truck hits Amish buggy in Virginia

Accidents involving Amish buggies have been on the rise in Virginia over the past years

A horse-drawn Amish buggy. An Amish child was killed in July 2024 when a pickup truck hit a buggy carrying a family of seven in Cumberland County, Virginia. The other family members were all injured in the accident and required treatment (stock image) (Wikimedia Commons)

One person was killed and six others required medical treatment after a crash involving an Amish buggy in Cumberland County, Virginia.

The crash occurred on Sunday night near the 2700 block of Cumberland Road just before 7pm, according to Virginia State Police troopers.

Cumberland Volunteer Fire Department members rushed to the scene and asked the public to avoid the area due to a "significant incident," the Farmville Herald reports.

A pickup truck reportedly collided with a horse-drawn buggy, according to the state police. The buggy was carrying seven people at the time of the crash.

Corinne Geller, the Public Relations Director for the state police, told the newspaper that six of the seven on the buggy were transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. A seventh individual died at the scene.

The person who died has been confirmed by the state police to have been one of the Amish family's children.

The driver of the truck was not injured in the incident.

Police are still investigating the cause of the crash. No charges have been brought against the driver at this time.

A GoFundMe has been set up to assist the family with their medical bills.

According to the GoFundMe, the family's patriarch is named Enos King.

"There will be significant costs due to this accident: medical, travel to and from [the] hospital, and loss of work for Enos," the fundraising site says. "Please keep the family in your prayers as they recover and grieve the loss of their child."

The child's age is currently not known.

In October 2022, an Amish couple was killed in the same area in Cumberland County when another pickup truck hit their buggy. In that incident, the buggy was carrying 10 family members. Barbie and John Esh were killed, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch.

The couple's eight children, ranging from nine months to 16-years-old, were taken for treatment at a nearby hospital.

The driver in that incident, Mickel Bates, 60, was indicted in 2022 on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving.

Amish buggies are appearing more frequently in some parts of Virginia, especially in the state's central counties. Between 2016 and 2022, there were 24 collisions involving a horse and carriage, which resulted in four fatalities and at least 65 injuries, the Virginia Mercury reports.