‘Had Too Many’: 21-Year-Old Man Allegedly Kills Three Amish Children

A stock crime scene photo. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The man who allegedly struck an Amish horse-drawn carriage in Michigan, killing three children, told officials that he “had too many,” it was reported.

The crash took place at around 6 p.m. on June 7 in Algansee Township in Branch County, WOOD-TV reported.

The driver, 21-year-old Tyler Jackson Frye, was charged with three counts of operating under the influence causing death, one count of felony firearm possession, and two counts of operating under the influence causing serious injury, according to the report.

According to The Detroit Free Press, a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old died at the scene of the crash. A 4-year-old was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Another young child and a woman in the carriage remained hospitalized, State Trooper Seth Reed told the Free Press.

Police said that seven people in all were ejected during the crash. The identities of those who died in the crash were not disclosed.

Documents from the Branch County District Court stated that Frye told police that he drank six beers that day before the crash. He said he couldn’t stop as he was passing over a hill before hitting the carriage, WOOD-TV reported.

The documents also said that Frye admitted to rear-ending the carriage, and when he was asked about taking a sobriety test, he refused.

“What’s the point? I have had too many,” he reportedly told police.

Investigators said he had a blood alcohol level of 0.108, which is above the legal limit of 0.08.

WOOD-TV also reported that officials found a handgun in his vehicle.

He was arraigned on June 8 and is currently being held at the Branch County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond. It’s not clear if he has an attorney, according to Fox6 Now.

Algansee Township is located near the border of Ohio and Indiana, and it has a number of Amish communities.

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“Michigan has a long history of Amish settlement, with the first Amish settling in the Great Lakes State in 1895. Today Michigan’s Amish population numbers approximately 11,000. Michigan’s 86 Amish church districts are scattered over 35 settlements, from Hillsdale and Branch Counties in the south, to Mackinac County in the Upper Peninsula,” says Amish America.

Branch County, it adds, is home to five “distinct Amish communities.”

“One of the settlements, that of Quincy, is a Swiss Amish settlement, founded by Amish from Norfolk, New York (with roots in the large Swiss Amish community in Allen County, Indiana). Quincy is at present the second-largest Amish settlement in Michigan, and with 6 church districts has an Amish population of roughly 800,” the site says.