Two people were injured and an Amish-owned horse died after the animal became frightened and bolted into traffic on M-117 near Engadine. The accident happened at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26. Lt. Ron Umbarger of the Mackinac County Sheriff Department said the horse was pulling an Amish buggy on Kraus Road when something caused it to get spooked. A man in the buggy, its sole occupant, was thrown from the cart and the horse ran unattended onto M-117. The horse raced along the road in the dark for about a mile and a half before getting hit by a vehicle near McKelvey Road. Two occupants in the vehicle received minor injuries in the accident, and the horse died. The man originally inside the buggy was uninjured, but both the buggy and the car were damaged. The highway was closed briefly while the accident was under investigation. This was the second accident of that sort in recent months, Umbarger said. He urged drivers in the area to be careful and alert in that area, which is home to a number of Amish families whose horse-drawn carriages share the road with automobiles. “Use caution when approaching the buggies, especially from the rear,” Umbarger said. “If possible, give them a little extra room.” The horses can behave unpredictably, getting spooked by a vehicle, or from any other unknown thing. “It’s a live animal,” Umbarger said. “It has its own thoughts and feelings.” The Mackinac County Sheriff Department responded to the accident.
Amish horse and buggy struck on M-117
