Driverless Amish buggy crashes in Watertown

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - An Amish buggy without a driver to control the horses traveled roughly two miles on one of Watertown’s busiest streets before colliding with vehicles.

City police said the driver, Joseph Zook (no age or address available), parked his buggy at Lowe’s Home Improvement on Route 3, also known as outer Arsenal Street, in the town of Watertown.

While Zook was inside, officials said the two horses got free and wound up pulling the buggy onto the street and continued traveling toward downtown Watertown.

Police said the horses collided with a couple of vehicles at around 3 p.m. on Arsenal Street in front of Walgreens near the intersection of Bellew Avenue.

The two horses were injured and a member of the Amish community retrieved them to take them to a farm. It appeared the animals were not seriously hurt.

Sheyenne Webber, whose vehicle was struck by the horses, had no idea the buggy had no driver.

“I saw in my mirror two horses coming full speed, and I’m thinking Amish people know what they’re doing. They’re going to stop and then I’m hit, but I’m fine. They’re saying the horses are fine. This is crazy, like, you know, when does this happen,” she said.

Zook told 7 News he’s unsure how the horses got loose.

No people were injured in the incident.

Traffic heading toward Public Square was backed up for a time and city police directed vehicles past the crash scene.

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