At least six people were killed in rural Michigan after a pickup truck blew through a stop sign and rammed into a van carrying members of the local Amish community, authorities confirmed.
The deadly collision occurred on Tuesday in Gilford Township, a farming region roughly 100 miles north of Detroit.
According to the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office, 13 people were in the two vehicles, including 10 in the van.
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“Multiple passengers were ejected from the van and the pickup,” the sheriff's office said on Facebook. “At this time, there are 6 confirmed fatalities, and the condition of the additional patients is unknown.”
Members of a local Amish community were in the van, Undersheriff Robert Baxter said Wednesday.
“They had a paid driver in the van,” he told The Associated Press. “I'm not sure where they were headed or where they were coming from. They're county residents."
{{/usCountry}}“They had a paid driver in the van,” he told The Associated Press. “I'm not sure where they were headed or where they were coming from. They're county residents."
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Baxter said seven people were taken to a hospital. He had no update on their conditions.
Who is the Amish community?
The Amish generally follow basic Christian beliefs while maintaining a degree of separation from common society. They typically rely on horse-drawn buggies for transportation and do not operate their own cars or trucks, but will ride in vehicles driven by people who are not Amish.
In a separate tragedy Tuesday in western Michigan, a 4-month-old girl died after a crash involving a pickup truck and an Amish buggy, state police said. There were four other children and two adults in the buggy.
A 2-year-old boy was in critical condition, police said.
"This tragic crash is a sobering reminder to drive with patience and caution in areas where horse-and-buggy travel is a way of life," police said.
About 61% of North America's Amish population lives in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, according to Elizabethtown College, though Michigan also has a relatively large share.