{"id":6328,"date":"2025-10-12T14:07:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T14:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/?p=6328"},"modified":"2025-10-12T14:07:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T14:07:23","slug":"jeep-plows-into-amish-buggy-near-berne-father-airlifted-multiple-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/?p=6328","title":{"rendered":"Jeep plows into Amish buggy near Berne \u2014 father airlifted, multiple children"},"content":{"rendered":"

BERNE, Indiana<\/a>\u00a0\u2014<\/strong>\u00a0A late-night collision on\u00a0State Road 218<\/a>\u00a0turned a peaceful rural road into a chaotic emergency scene after a Jeep struck a horse-drawn\u00a0Amish buggy<\/a>, throwing nearly everyone out of the vehicle and sending multiple people to hospitals. First responders were called to the crash at about 11:20 p.m. on October 7; when they arrived they found a badly damaged buggy scattered across the pavement and a Jeep in a ditch.<\/p>\n

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The buggy was carrying nine people at the time of the crash. Local officials say a total of seven people from the buggy were injured and taken for medical care; reports describe six of those occupants as juveniles, though some local accounts list slightly different age breakdowns. The buggy\u2019s driver, 32-year-old Ruben L.M. Schwartz of Berne, was airlifted to\u00a0Lutheran Hospital<\/a>. Joseph L.M. Schwartz, 20, and five juvenile passengers were transported by ambulance to\u00a0Parkview Hospital<\/a>. Two other passengers \u2014 Saraetta L. Schwartz, 32, and a 2-year-old \u2014 declined treatment at the scene.<\/p>\n

Adams County Sheriff Dan Mawhorr<\/a>\u00a0told reporters the Jeep \u2014 driven by 33-year-old Bradley J. Ocilka of Burlington, Kentucky \u2014 struck the slower-moving buggy from behind while traveling eastbound on SR 218. Ocilka was taken to the hospital for a legal blood draw but declined other medical attention at the scene. At the time of reporting no charges had been filed while the crash remains under investigation.<\/p>\n

Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including\u00a0Adams County EMS<\/a>, Berne and Geneva police departments, the\u00a0Berne Fire Department<\/a>,\u00a0Wells and Jay County EMS<\/a>,\u00a0Indiana State Police<\/a>, and\u00a0Lutheran Hospital\u2019s Flight Team<\/a>. Officials described the scene as chaotic, with first responders working quickly to provide medical treatment and to secure the site.<\/p>\n

Photos released by authorities show the buggy broken and strewn across the road and emergency vehicles lit up along the rural highway. The Amish community in the large\u00a0Adams County Swiss-Amish settlement<\/a>\u00a0is close-knit; a collision like this \u2014 especially at night \u2014 can have outsized impact on a single family and their neighbors. Local leaders and residents are expected to rally around the family as they recover.<\/p>\n

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This crash highlights the hazards horse-drawn conveyances face on modern roads. Passing or attempting to pass slow-moving buggies on narrow rural highways carries risk, particularly at night. Safety experts urge drivers to slow down, pass with care, and give extra room when a buggy or other slow vehicle is present. Rural law enforcement and community groups also frequently remind motorists to watch for\u00a0reflective markers<\/a>, lanterns, and to be alert for sudden slowdowns. (For local readers: please always slow for buggies and give them plenty of space.)<\/p>\n

The investigation remains ongoing. No formal charges had been announced in initial reports; authorities continue to review the crash, interview witnesses, and evaluate any evidence collected at the scene. We will update this post as officials release more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BERNE, Indiana\u00a0\u2014\u00a0A late-night collision on\u00a0State Road 218\u00a0turned a peaceful rural road into a chaotic emergency scene after a Jeep struck a horse-drawn\u00a0Amish buggy, throwing nearly everyone out of the vehicle and sending multiple people...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6328"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6329,"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6328\/revisions\/6329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/originaltastex.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}