A Northern Michigan mom who witnessed a deadly buggy crash that killed two young Amish children is trying to raise awareness so nothing like that happens again.
Courtney Harmon from Mesick saw the crash happen and stopped to help. The crash happened at the intersection of East 16 Road and North 39 Road in Manton.
The Wexford County Sheriff’s office said a car hit the Amish buggy after it had pulled into the intersection.
Two children in the buggy were killed, and a third was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Courtney was there helping at the crash scene back in March.
It happened in the morning hours as families were traveling to school.
Traffic and safety laws don’t always apply to Amish buggies, and Courtney said drivers in the area aren’t always paying attention to them, but that doesn’t mean the Amish don’t deserve to be protected.
“You know, being there? I just felt an instant connection to the kids. I felt like they could be mine or any kid, and I just felt like I needed to take care of them,” said Courtney.
Courtney is still trying to take care of them. A mom to four, similar in age to the kids in the crash, Courtney said some of the talk she heard afterwards didn’t sit well with her.
“I think people partially think that since they’re Amish and they’re on our road that we drive on that it’s bound to happen, things like this. And I just don’t think it has to happen,” said Courtney.
She said she and her husband, Kyle, have talked to the township, the road commission and Michigan State Police trying to figure out what can be done. As it turned out, there were too many roadblocks.
“They were talking about putting up these flashing lights and then they said, ‘Well, hang on. They’ve got to run traffic surveys, they’ve got rules, regulations, they’ve got red tape, they’ve got a lot of stuff they have to figure out,’” said Kyle.
Meanwhile, Kyle screen-prints for a business, so the Harmons decided to make some signs to spread awareness of the Amish presence.
Whether it’s widening the roads, putting up a light, reducing the speed or even having an alternative route for the Amish, the Harmons say something needs to happen.
“That road is dangerous. It’s a dangerous situation. Any time you’ve got cars traveling 60 miles an hour and people going 10-15 miles an hour in a horse and buggy, it’s not a good mixture,” said Kyle.
The Harmons said people from around the area have been requesting signs.
The Manton Rotary Club has also reached out and offered to pay for 50 more signs to be made.
