Multiple Injured After Jeep Collides With Amish Buggy in Berne, Indiana

BERNE, Ind. — A late-night crash on State Road 218 left several people injured after a Jeep struck a horse-drawn Amish buggy around 11:20 p.m. on October 7. The buggy, carrying nine people, was heavily damaged, and multiple occupants were thrown from the vehicle.

Local officials report seven people from the buggy were hospitalized, including six juveniles. The buggy’s driver, 32-year-old Ruben L.M. Schwartz, was airlifted to Lutheran Hospital. Joseph L.M. Schwartz, 20, and five children were taken by ambulance to Parkview Hospital. Two passengers, including a 2-year-old, declined treatment at the scene.

The Jeep, driven by 33-year-old Bradley J. Ocilka of Burlington, Kentucky, struck the buggy from behind while traveling eastbound. Ocilka underwent a legal blood draw and declined further medical attention. No charges have been filed yet, and the crash remains under investigation.

Multiple agencies, including Adams County EMS, Berne and Geneva police, the Berne Fire Department, Indiana State Police, and Lutheran Hospital’s Flight Team, responded to the chaotic scene.