Sage Township, Michigan — A 27-year-old Amish man who was driving a horse-drawn carriage died in a head-on collision with an SUV on March 3 in Sage Township, Gladwin County.
The 53-year-old driver of a northbound orange Dodge Journey was attempting to pass a school bus when he collided with a horse and buggy traveling south on North Bard near Sullivan.
The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Henry Troyer died of blunt-force trauma around 8:40 a.m. on March 14 at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. The manner of death is accidental.
Troyer’s horse died on the scene. The SUV driver was treated for non-fatal injuries.
Gladwin County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Dysinger stated that the crash investigation is ongoing and will be submitted to the Gladwin County Prosecutor’s Office for review once completed. Alcohol is not a factor, he stated.
Horse and carriage traffic is common in the area, which is home to several Amish communities. According to the police report, the SUV driver stated in an interview after the crash that he had just crossed a hill and entered a passing zone when attempting to overtake the school bus.
As he began to pass, the driver “saw the bus do something with their brakes… which made him think he was about to hit a deer,” according to the police report.
The driver stated that he briefly glanced at the bus before returning his attention to the road, and that “something came through the windshield and hit him,” according to the report. The driver told police he didn’t know what he collided with at first, but the bus driver stopped to check on him and said “he had hit an Amish buggy.”
Deputies obtained and reviewed video footage from cameras mounted on the bus, which showed it traveling at about 40 mph when the oncoming Amish carriage approached on the southbound side of the road, “straddling the white fog line,” according to the report.
The bus slowed to 34 mph as the buggy approached, according to speed data included in the video. When the carriage left the video frame, “I overheard a loud noise,” the reviewing deputy stated in their report.
According to weather data, the sun rose around 7:10 a.m. on March 3, but the police report stated that conditions were clear with 10-mile visibility at 6:35 a.m. Deputies at the scene identified Troyer “by his name on his lantern case that was found in the roadway,” according to the report. Another Amish man arrived at the scene in a horse-drawn carriage, identifying himself as Troyer’s brother.
Troyer was first taken to the My Michigan Medical Center Gladwin hospital before being flown by helicopter to Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, where he died.
