Young Amish Man Driving Horse-and-Buggy on State Highway Rear-Ended in Fatal Crash

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​A very sad story in north-central Missouri of two worlds colliding (literally and figuratively):

A 29-year-old Amish man who was steering his horse-and-buggy south on Highway 63 near Moberly, Missouri on Tuesday was rear-ended by a vehicle cruising at 70 mph.

According to the Columbia Daily Tribune's story, the Amish man, Eli Borntrager of Madison, Missouri, was launched from his buggy, hit the pavement, and died from internal injuries including a broken neck. 

Here's one of several intriguing paragraphs from the Daily Trib:

Outside a farmhouse on Route Y [Tuesday] afternoon, a 22-year-old man with a traditional beard, a straw hat and overalls greeted a reporter with a somber smile. Asking that his name not be used, he said he heard about Borntrager's accident at 1 p.m. when an MFA grain salesman -- one of the "English" -- came by his house saying he'd just seen a wreck involving a buggy on the highway.

"It's just like losing one of the family," the young man said of the death.

You really should read the whole story here, part of which involves the reporter talking to the Amish about texting-while-driving. Also, Daily RFT wonders: do people in the Amish community refer to all of us on the outside of it as "the English"?