6-Year-Old Amish Boy Hit By Car And Killed

HELENA - A 6-year-old Amish boy was struck and killed by a vehicle Monday afternoon as he was attempting to cross the road from his family's home to the barn.

Investigators with the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation said their investigation was continuing, and they wouldn't be releasing any names until today.

The accident took place at approximately 3:45 p.m. Monday when a westbound vehicle struck the child as he attempted to cross County Route 37, according to Helena Volunteer Fire Department Chief Francis W. Burns.

"It appears the child entered the roadway, and the driver didn't have a chance to avoid the collision. It sure looks like he tried. It doesn't appear he was doing anything he normally wouldn't have been doing. He was pretty shaken too," Chief Burns said.

Several hours after the collision a pastor from a Massena church brought the driver's wife to the accident scene. The vehicle that struck the Amish child had two car seats in the back seat.

The accident took place approximately 500 feet from the St. Lawrence and Franklin county border in front of the Byler residence at 2575 county Route 37. During the course of the afternoon, a number of Amish families arrived at the crash site - some by horse and buggy; others driven by English friends and neighbors.

Chief Burns said a couple of Amish families moved into the Bombay-Helena area last fall, and the population grew rapidly this spring. He said several more families are reportedly planning to move into the area in the coming months.

The Helena fire chief said the tragedy underscored the need to improve communications with the families moving into the area as well as to upgrade signage to alert motorists about the horse and buggy, as well as pedestrian, traffic in the area.

Chief Burns said county Route 37, which has a posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour, is well traveled. "The speed limit is 55, but the average speed through here is probably more like 65," he noted.

"This will be the first full year they have been here and once school starts the traffic will increase threefold," he suggested.

He added it would be helpful if Amish elders addressed the issue of road safety in their community and said it would also be beneficial if Salmon River school officials emphasized the new safety issues related to traveling on county Route 37. "This isn't the first time this has happened," he said, pointing to skid marks in the roadway unrelated to Monday's accident.

Chief Burns also said the tragedy underscored the need for increased communication among law enforcement, fire and rescue officials and leaders from the Amish community.

He said there were Amish cultural rituals that had to be respected at the accident scene as well as the dictates of law enforcement investigations. "We've got to do something with law enforcement and the Amish elders so they have a better idea of what law enforcement has to do when these types of tragedies occur," according to Chief Burns.

Helena Fire and Rescue was assisted at the scene by Bombay Fire and Rescue and Tri-Town Rescue. St. Lawrence County Coroner June Wood ordered the boy's body be transported to Massena Memorial Hospital.

County Route 37 was closed between Factory Road and state Route 95 for several hours Monday afternoon as a state police accident reconstruction team completed their work.