DECATUR, Ind. (WANE)— As 2025 comes to a close, WANE 15 is revisiting some of our most viewed coverage throughout the year.
One of our most viewed topics was crashes involving Amish buggies. One crash in Adams County led to several OWI charges. Another resulted in nine people getting injured. Dealing with buggy crashes is not something every law enforcement agency does. But the Adams County Sheriff’s Office is quite familiar with it.
Adams County Sheriff Dan Mawhorr said in the past few years, it seems like the number of buggy crashes has increased overall. There were 20 crashes involving at least one buggy between 2022 and 2024. 2025 data has yet to be compiled. But the factor that sticks out to Mawhorr the most isn’t the amount of buggy crashes, but the severity of them. He said they have been more severe in recent years. And for that, Mawhorr thinks there are two main causes.
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When motor vehicles are at fault, Mawhorr said 25% of the time, buggies are rear-ended. That could either be because of distracted driving or underestimating how quickly the driver is approaching a buggy…