The two buggies carried four and five people when a southbound van struck them Friday morning in the town of Richland.
RICHLAND, N.Y. — Nine people were riding in two Amish buggies when a passenger van struck both horse-drawn vehicles Friday morning in Oswego County, killing two children and critically injuring a third, according to New York State Police.
The number of people traveling in the buggies underscores the scale of the collision at County Route 41 and Manwaring Road in the town of Richland. Police said one buggy was carrying four people and the second was carrying five when the crash occurred shortly after 9:15 a.m. Sept. 25.
A preliminary investigation found that a 2017 Dodge van and both buggies were traveling south on County Route 41 before the collision. Police identified the van’s driver as Terri M. Russell, 47, of Sandy Creek.
The two children who died, ages 7 and 13, were riding in the first buggy, according to police. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names had not been publicly released in the information available Sunday, and authorities had not disclosed their relationship to one another.
A 9-year-old riding in the second buggy was critically injured and taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. Police did not publicly identify the child. No later condition was available in the reports reviewed Sunday.
Authorities also had not released detailed information about the remaining occupants of the two buggies. The available police account did not specify the extent of any additional injuries or describe what happened immediately before the van struck the horse-drawn vehicles.
The collision came less than two weeks after another deadly buggy crash in northern New York. A pickup truck struck a buggy carrying 10 people Sept. 13 on County Route 25 in Canton, in neighboring St. Lawrence County. A 78-year-old woman and a 4-year-old boy died in that crash, while other occupants were injured.
In the Richland case, police described their findings as preliminary and had not announced charges or a determination of fault. Details such as the sequence of the two impacts and other circumstances surrounding the collision had not been made public.
State police continued to investigate the crash as of the latest available reports and said more information would be released as it becomes available. The identities of the children who died and further information about the other buggy occupants remained unreleased.
Author note: Last updated Sept. 27, 2026.