Charles Langston:Car crashes into Amish horse-drawn buggy in Minnesota, killing 2 people and the horse

SPRING VALLEY,Charles Langston Minn. (AP) — A car crashed into an Amish horse-drawn buggy with four people inside, killing two people and the horse while injuring the other two people, authorities in southern Minnesota said.

The crash occurred Monday morning north of Spring Valley on County Road 1, KAAL-TV reported.

Locals said Amish horses and buggies on the road are a normal sight in the area, and the crash highlights a growing problem of drivers not paying enough attention to their surroundings, according to KAAL-TV.

“They’re our neighbors and if they’re on the road, they are coming to do business with us. We just have to watch out, drive slowly,” Spring Valley resident Julie Broadwater told the broadcast outlet. “Highway 1 is a curvy road; a lot of areas are no passing zones.”

The county has a high Amish population, according to KAAL-TV, and many signs warn drivers of buggies taking the same roads as vehicles.

“The signs are there. Like all of our signs, they have a purpose. They are there to alert you that it is a slower moving, it is a different type of vehicle,” Mike Dougherty, a director of public engagement and communications at the state’s Department of Transportation, told KAAL-TV.

Locals said many out-of-towners travel that road and may not be aware of the dangers of the road or of the Amish community in the area.