• 04
  • October
    2011

Police in St. Mary's County are asking for the public's help as they investigate a vehicle crash that killed a 12-year-old girl and injured two other people. Authorities say the horse and buggy the three were riding in was struck by a car shortly before 7:40 at night on Saturday.

The official report of the incident offers these details. Police say the Amish horse and buggy carrying the three individuals was trying to cross a multi-lane highway, west to east, in the area of Charlotte Hall, southeast of Washington, D.C. It had a green light at the start of the crossing, but officials say that the light changed to red before the slow-moving vehicle had made it all the way across.

The report says a car headed north on the highway came up on the intersection. By the time it got to the crossing, it had the green light, but the driver apparently did not see that the buggy was still in his path.

The car hit the buggy, ejecting all three of its passengers. They were rushed to an area hospital where the girl was later declared dead. The other two were treated and released. The nature of their injuries was not made public. There also is no word about how the horse fared in the collision.

Police say there is no evidence now that the driver of the car was going too fast. They say that neither alcohol nor drugs appear to have contributed either. The investigation is continuing.

Such accidents are rare, especially so close to large metropolitan areas like Washington. They are not unheard of, however, in rural Maryland, where Amish communities thrive.

Source: The Washington Post, "Child killed when car hits horse and buggy, Maggie Fazeli Fard, Oct. 3, 2011