* Amish drag racing horse and carriages on rural road- police

* Town in western New York home to large Amish community

March 12 (Reuters) - Four Amish youths were charged with underage drinking after they crashed their horse-drawn buggy into a police cruiser in upstate New York, authorities said on Monday.

Police were dispatched to the town of Sherman on Sunday night in response to complaints about Amish youths drinking and drag racing their horse and carriages on the road, said Chautauqua County Sheriff Joseph Gerace.

"These Amish kids in buggies were racing up and down the street," he said.

"When police came, there were two buggies on the road and each was taking a lane of traffic up. One of the buggies tried to shift out of the way when a patrol car came and ended up crashing into it," Gerace said.

The police report from the crash said the buggy flipped over and the horse broke free, running off to a nearby barn.

Four youths, aged 18 to 20, were charged with underage possession of alcohol.

Sherman is a town in western New York about 90 miles (145 km) south of Buffalo. The area is home to a large Amish community. (Reporting by Aman Ali; Editing By Barbara Goldberg and Doina Chiacu)