LaGrange County, IN (July 22, 2026) – A pickup truck rear-ended a horse-drawn buggy just before 3:00 p.m. on State Road 9 in rural LaGrange County, Indiana, hospitalizing a woman and two small children, according to LaGrange County law enforcement. The southbound Ford F-150 struck a southbound buggy in the 3000 block of South State Road 9, just south of County Road 300 South, an open two-lane highway that runs through one of Indiana’s largest Amish communities.
The impact ejected the buggy’s operator, a 25-year-old woman, along with one of the two children riding with her. The other child stayed in the buggy until it came to a stop. All three occupants were taken to the hospital: the woman with back injuries, a 2-year-old boy with injuries described as being to his whole body, and a 5-month-old girl with a head injury.
The driver of the pickup, a 77-year-old Wolcottville man, was not hurt. He told investigators he did not see the buggy ahead of him before the crash on the afternoon of July 22. No names have been released, and the crash remains under investigation by LaGrange County law enforcement.
This is a developing story. Details may change as the investigation continues.
A crash that sends an infant and a toddler to the hospital changes everything for a family in the space of an afternoon, and it raises coverage questions most people never expect to face.
Rear-End Accident Claims in Indiana
Evidence in a rear-end crash disappears fast, and that’s especially true when the vehicle that got hit is a slow-moving buggy that leaves little physical evidence of its own.
- See a doctor right away, even when injuries seem minor at first. A head injury in an infant or a back injury in an adult doesn’t always show itself on day one.
- Don’t give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company before speaking with an attorney.
- Preserve the pickup’s event data recorder, the roadway markings, and any nearby camera footage before they’re lost or overwritten.
- Don’t accept a settlement offer until the full extent of each person’s injuries is known.
Indiana law requires a driver approaching a horse-drawn buggy to keep a safe following distance and a proper lookout, and a driver who strikes the vehicle ahead generally carries the burden of explaining why. Indiana’s modified comparative fault rule still lets an injured person recover as long as they’re found less than 51% at fault, and each occupant here, the woman and both children, has a separate claim competing for the same limited insurance, since Indiana’s minimum liability limits are just $25,000 per person.
Because two of the three people hurt are children, any settlement on their behalf will need court approval under Indiana law, a step meant to protect money set aside for a child’s future medical needs.
Indiana’s personal injury statute of limitations is two years (IC 34-11-2-4), running to July 22, 2028 for the adult hurt in this crash. A child’s claim generally stays open longer because Indiana law tolls the deadline during minority, but evidence doesn’t wait on a legal deadline.
Contact Our Indiana Car Accident Attorneys
Watching a baby and a toddler get loaded into an ambulance is not something any parent should have to go through, and the days that follow are usually a blur of hospital hallways rather than insurance paperwork.
Langer & Langer has represented injured Indiana families for over 45 years, including cases where young children and multiple household policies compete for the same limited coverage. Our Indiana car accident lawyer team can help sort out which liability, underinsured motorist, and medical payments coverage actually reaches each person hurt in a crash like this one.
The pickup’s event data recorder and the physical evidence along State Road 9 won’t wait for the investigation to wrap up, and a written preservation request often has to go out before either one disappears for good. Obtaining the official LaGrange County crash report is usually the next step, and a request under Indiana’s public records law can help when the report doesn’t surface right away.
We work on contingency. There’s no cost to talk, and nothing owed unless we recover for you.
Why Indiana families trust Langer & Langer:
- Over 45 years representing injured people across Indiana, founded in 1980
- 100+ years of combined legal experience among our attorneys
- Recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, and the American College of Trial Lawyers
