JERUSALEM, N.Y. — Seven people, including a 7-month-old child, were injured Sunday afternoon after a car struck a horse-drawn carriage transporting a Mennonite family in New York, authorities confirmed.
Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike told WHAM that the crash occurred around 5:15 p.m. when driver Justin Niver, 24, attempted unsuccessfully to pass the buggy driven by Matthew Sensenig, 33, as the carriage crested a hill.
An oncoming vehicle forced Niver to swerve back into the westbound lane and strike Sensenig’s buggy, and the force of the crash threw all seven members of the family into a nearby ditch and field, deputies told the TV station.
Sensenig and his wife reportedly sustained head injuries, their 7-year-old son sustained multiple critical injuries and their 7-month-old sustained internal injuries, but all four were stabilized at Strong Memorial Hospital with improved conditions by Sunday night, the Star-Gazette reported.
Three other young boys in the family sustained unknown injuries, and a local veterinarian euthanized the horse at the scene, the newspaper reported.
The sheriff told WHAM that Niver, who was not injured, was not impaired and cooperated with officials. Charges are pending against him.
Cox Media Group