WEST SALEM – The Wooster Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is seeking the public’s help identifying the driver of a vehicle involved in a hit-skip accident with an Amish buggy Wednesday evening that left a child with serious injuries.
According to a press release, an Amish buggy with five occupants was southbound on Ohio 539 north of County Road 102 (Ruff Road) in northwestern Wayne County at about 7:55 p.m. A car that was also southbound on Ohio 539 struck the rear of the buggy, forcing the buggy off the right side of the roadway and into a ditch. The vehicle fled the scene after the accident.
Four of the occupants were transported to Lodi Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A young child was transported to Lodi Hospital and then transferred to Akron Children’s Hospital with serious injuries.
Troopers recovered pieces of the hit-skip vehicle at the scene of the crash and identified the parts as likely belonging to a champagne-colored 2001 Honda Accord with significant damage.
The Swartzentruber Amish in Ashland and Wayne counties have been working to be safer on the roads, adding a white square bordered by white reflective tape on the back of their carriages, along with white plastic tubes sticking out of the spokes on their buggy wheels. The buggy involved in Wednesday’s accident had those additions, according to authorities.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Wooster Post of the Highway Patrol at 330-264-0575.
