22-year-old dies, brother injured in Lafayette Co. buggy crash

LAFAYETTE COUNTY, Wis. (WMTV) - A Gratoit man has died after he and his youngest brother were thrown from their Amish buggy when it was struck from behind by a pickup truck.

According to the Lafayette Co. Sheriff’s Office, Elmer Stoltzfus, 22, passed away shortly after 9:00 a.m. The toddler also suffered serious injuries in the crash, which happened around 7:15 p.m. Thursday on State Highway 11, in Gratoit Township, Sheriff Reg Hill stated.

Deputies who responded to the scene found that an Amish buggy being pulled by a single horse was heading west and preparing to take a left when it was hit from behind by a pickup truck, investigators said.

Stolzfus and his 2-year-old brother inside the buggy were ejected and suffered significant injuries. Both were taken to a hospital in Lafayette County, but then Medflight took the father to University Hospital in Madison.

The driver of the truck, identified as 50-year-old Terry Gensler, was not injured. Gensler was arrested by deputies for Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Injury and was booked and released from jail Thursday night.

The horse pulling the buggy was killed in the crash.

The investigation of the crash is ongoing.

correction: The original version of this story identified the 2-year-old as the Stoltzfus' son, based on information from the Sheriff's Office. In an update, authorities now say the toddler was Stoltfus' youngest brother.