Amish kids in buggy die in collision with SUV on the way to school, IN cops say
Three Amish children died on the way to school when their horse-drawn buggy was rear-ended by an SUV in northern Indiana, news outlets reported.
WIBC reported the accident happened just before 8 a.m. on April 9. The victims, all siblings, were Glenda Jo Yoder, 13, Darrell Yoder, 10, and Devon Yoder, 9.
Police told WNDU the driver of a Mercedes-Benz GLA hit the buggy, throwing all three siblings from it.
WSBT reported a medical helicopter and an accident reconstructionist came to the scene just south of the town of Bremen. The town is a 20-mile drive south of South Bend.
All three died on the rural road where the collision occurred, according to the outlet.
Indiana has no age requirements for driving a horse-drawn buggy, according to WNDU.
The 17-year-old driver of the SUV was uninjured, according to WIBC. It was unclear if the driver will face charges.
According to Amishamerica.com, Indiana is home to over 63,000 Amish. Around 65% of the Amish live in either Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
A 2021 study from Purdue University found their communities are growing faster than Indiana’s general population. With that growth has come a rising number of collisions between cars and horse-drawn carts.
“Compared to motor vehicle incidents, these collisions result in a disproportionate number of fatalities,” the study said.
In 66.7 percent of the 20 buggy and car collisions reported in 2021, those that died were under the age of 21.
“It should be noted that this type of occurrence is under-reported and access to incident reports may be difficult to obtain,” the report continued. “There is a need to give more attention to incidents involving Amish/Old Order horse-drawn vehicles on public roadways, as well as farm work-related injuries among this population.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Amish kids in buggy die in collision with SUV on the way to school, IN cops say."
