Amish teen dies in buggy accident on U.S. 35
ECONOMY, IND. — An Amish teen from Economy was killed Thursday night after the buggy in which he was a passenger was involved in an accident on U.S. 35 North south of Economy.
Jonas Beiler, 17, of Economy, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The accident took place at about 9:30 p.m. on U.S. 35, just south of the Newman Road intersection, Indiana State Police Sgt. John Bowling said.
Bowling said when State Trooper Joshua Bayly arrived at the scene, he found the accident involved a horse-drawn buggy and three cars.
The preliminary investigation showed the buggy, driven by Michael Lapp, 17, of Economy, was northbound on U.S. 35 with no lights on.
A northbound 2009 Ford car, driven by Martin Lawson, 44, of Hagerstown, was unable to stop before striking the rear of the buggy, knocking it into the southbound lane of U.S. 35.
The buggy then was sideswiped by a southbound Buick driven by Norman Zile, 51, of Middletown.
During the collision, Beiler was ejected onto the roadway, where he was struck by a northbound Pontiac driven by Bailey Wilkison, 17, of Mooreland.
Lapp, a female passenger in the buggy and the drivers of the three cars were uninjured.
The horse that was pulling the buggy was treated by a veterinarian at the scene and taken by trailer for further examination.
Bayly was assisted in the investigation by State Police Crash Reconstructionist Trooper Scott Keegan, Sgt. Jeff Zeiger, Sgt. David Whitinger and Trooper Mark Hanna. Others assisting at the scene included the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, Perry Township (Economy) Fire Department and Culberson Ambulance Service.
U.S. 35 was closed to traffic for more than five hours.