A tragic road accident Friday left a two-year-old Amish boy as the only survivor of the crash that took nine people’s lives, according to Wisconsin’s Clark County Sheriff Office (CCSO).
Eight of the nine deceased were traveling in a van that was struck by a semi-tractor, Chief Deputy James Hirsch of the CCSO wrote in a post on Facebook. All were from Virginia, the office stated. (RELATED: Arrest Made In The Killing Of A Pregnant Amish Woman)
The semi-truck driver died in the fatal crash, according to the police. The deceased included people ranging from the ages of a 51-year-old to a 6-month-old child, the post read. “The only survivor, a 2 years old child, was transported to the Marshfield Medical Center and was released to family members today, March 11th 2024,” Hirsch wrote in the CCSO’s press release. “This is the first fatal accident in 2024 for Clark County.”
Allen Gross, a family friend of the deceased, told WISN 12 News that all persons in the van but the driver were members of two Amish families who were related to each other through marriage and that they had traveled to Wisconsin to visit relatives. “It was just a miracle that this young man is still even in existence,” Gross told the outlet. “He was just ejected from the van and I’m thinking that’s probably what saved his life.” Gross told the outlet he drove the child’s grandparents to Wisconsin to retrieve him from the hospital. Gross also launched a GoFundMe fundraiser for the families.
Amish community members killed in Clark County crash | Click on the image to read the full story https://t.co/7UbUXFlAFk
— WISN 12 NEWS (@WISN12News) March 12, 2024
“Give thanks to the Lord for his blessings and trust in Him,” Joseph Schrock, the grandfather of the 2-year-old, said in a statement released to WISN 12 News.
The Amish tend to hire local drivers for long distance commutes when a horse and buggy would not suffice, Professor Mark Louden of UW-Madison told TMJ 4. Wisconsin is reportedly home to some 25,000 Amish people making it the state with the fourth largest Amish population in the United States. Clark County is about one third Amish or traditional Mennonite, Louden told the outlet.