18-year-old critically injured after carriage horse gets loose in Central Park
CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan (WABC) -- An 18-year-old man was critically injured when a Central Park carriage horse got loose and took off in the park on Wednesday afternoon.
It happened near Tavern on the Green around 2:45 p.m.
Police say the 18-year-old fell from the horse carriage and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Witnesses say there was a family of four that was getting back into the carriage when the horse named Sampson got spooked and took off.
Video shows a person thrown from the speeding carriage and then the carriage flipping on its side.
The carriage driver was not in the carriage at the time and it appears he was trying to help the family get back in when it happened.
The union representing horse carriage drivers said Sampson's driver did not see or hear anything that could have spooked the horse.
The horse is said to be OK.
It comes just over a week after a carriage horse named Deniz died while carrying passengers in the park.
His death was determined to be a result of eating a toxic plant, but it has still renewed calls to end carriage horses in New York City.
The Central Park conservancy, which supports a ban of the horse carriages, released the following statement:
"As details of today's incident come into focus, our thoughts are with the injured. That this frightening situation is just days after the previous one underscores the dangers posed by horse carriages to Park visitors, carriage drivers, and the horses themselves. The Central Park Conservancy renews its call to ban carriages in Central Park as a matter of public safety and public health. We hope today's injuries are the last we ever see."
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