Something that may not be obvious is if these truly were Amish (or it could be some Old Order Mennonite sect as well), then that community probably doesn't have nearly as much experience with what can go wrong on a skid steer. How long have they been running them? 10 years? They truly may not have known the catapulting effect a skid steer bucket can have even if the kids are hanging on tight.

In our area, roughly 10 years ago, a small Old Order Mennonite group decided to allow skid steers so they manage manure in an environmentally friendly way. One guy told me he had no problem forking a load or two a week through the winter, but no way was he going to fork all winter's manure onto a spreader in a two week period in April. I was selling back then and sold several to them. I think it was my first customer from this group who revealed that his young son was going to operate it. I don't think the kid was much older than 7.

All I could do was shake my head and start talking about safety, especially as I watched all the other children running around the yard.

Those of us that grew up operating equipment from 6 (like my older brothers) or 8 (like me) were tutored from the start by people who already had a generation of seeing what can happen and knew to teach us how to avoid trouble. Accidents still happened anyway. This closed group of people mostly didn't get that benefit with skid steers. Unfortunately, their children are going to learn some of the lessons for all of them.

I really hope I'm wrong with my analysis and this one was just a freak event. I do realize the Amish and Mennonites have been around many dangerous situations and have survived very well. It just seems that the skid loader introduces new dynamics many wouldn't have known to watch for.