Family Of 7, Including Infant, Injured After Car Crashes Into Horse-Drawn Buggy In New York

Seven members of a family were injured after a car crashed into a horse-drawn buggy just east of Penn Yan, New York, Sunday, Aug.9.

A preliminary investigation revealed that 24-year-old Justin Niver crashed his car into “a slow-moving vehicle, traveling in the same direction.” The coachman, Matthew Sensenig, his wife and their five children were thrown out of the horse and buggy.

"As Niver was passing the SMV, another vehicle was Eastbound and he collided with the buggy, causing it to leave the roadway and smash apart, ejecting all seven members of the Sensenig family into the ditch and field," a release from the sheriff’s office said.

Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike described the collision as a "mass casualty incident with several critical injuries."

Four emergency helicopters had to be called to airlift the victims, Spike said during a press briefing.

Sensenig, his wife and two children – aged 7 months and 7 years – were airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries. The couple suffered head injuries. No updates were available about their current condition. The infant and the 7-year-old suffered multiple internal injuries and were reported to be in critical condition.

The other three young boys were transported to the hospital by an ambulance. They too suffered multiple injuries in the crash. All members of the family were being treated at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Niver suffered no injuries. It was not known if he would be charged for the incident. His car was seized and taken into custody.

The family's horse suffered critical injuries and had to be euthanized.

In a similar incident in April, a horse-drawn buggy carrying an Amish Family was overturned in the heavy rainstorm from a bridge in Kentucky into a flooded stream, killing five children. An adult was rescued but the children were swept away by the floodwaters. After a rigorous hunt, the search and rescue team discovered their bodies.