Six Injured After Truck Strikes Buggy In Northeast Iowa

Six people were injured Tuesday afternoon after a pickup struck the back of an Amish buggy in northeast Iowa.

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The crash happened around 3:40 pm Tuesday in the 3100 block of 140th Street, says the Iowa State Patrol Crash Report.

According to the report, 32-year-old Lavern Stauffer was driving a buggy east on 140^th street in Floyd County when the buggy was struck from behind by a pickup truck.
The crash caused all the occupants to be ejected from the buggy.

66-year-old Jim Whitmarsh was driving the 1998 Chevy truck that crashed into the buggy.

According to the crash report, the others injured in the accident were 27-year-old Teresa Stauffer and four children under the age of six. The report did not list any injuries for Whitmarsh.

The accident is under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol.

Sharing the road with buggies.

Horse-drawn carriages are slow-moving vehicles and are marked as one. If you drive up on a vehicle with a reflective orange triangle on its back and will only be traveling 35 mph or less.

Sergeant Alex Dinkla over at Iowa State Patrol shared some tips for sharing the road with buggies.

Just like the farm machinery those horse and buggies that are out on our roadways, they're able to be on the roadways. And we have to always remember that they are going at a very slow pace, so your vehicle is going to approach those horse and buggies very quickly. Just like always, as you're driving your vehicle you have to pay attention to what's ahead and be ready for anything that might be in your lane.

He adds,

You're going to have to slow down possibly just wherever the roadway conditions are. If it's appropriate that you're going to have to slow down you might have to, but they are in the road and they are an object in the road. So, whatever you need to do to be safe.

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