NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A runaway carriage horse dragged a coachman on a Hell's Kitchen street Sunday afternoon before hitting four cars and falling on the West Side Highway, officials and advocates said.
The chaotic scene unfolded around 3 p.m. as the 15-year-old horse, named Gunner, became agitated as a coachman was fixing a canopy on his carriage at West 55th Street and 11th Avenue.
"As he was getting back on the carriage to continue on his way, as he was climbing up on the carriage, the horse went to go home," said Christina Hansen, a spokesperson for the carriage industry.
"The horse broke loose of the carriage and then proceeded to run over to the West Side Highway," Hansen said.
The coachman tried to regain control of Gunner but was dragged by the horse toward the West Side Highway.
The horse avoided people in the sprint but struck four parked cars before slipping and falling onto the rainswept roadway.
Citizen App video shows the horse collapsed between a car and the median on the West Side Highway.
The coachman suffered minor injuries. Gunner had leg injuries and cuts but was in stable condition, the NYPD said. The department credited two off-duty mounted police officers, who they said "sprang into action and secured the animal to prevent further injuries."
The incident renewed calls by advocates and lawmakers to ban carriage horses. Council Member Robert Holden is among them.
"We must replace the horse drawn carriage with electric carriages," Holden said in response. "It's the 21st century, my God."
Edita Birnkrant, the executive director of the animal welfare nonprofit NYCLASS, said in a statement: "This is another prime example of why New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Mayor Eric Adams must take swift action to fast-track and pass legislation to remove cruel and unsafe horse carriages from Midtown streets."
PETA also responded to the incident, warning it "won't be the last unless swift action is taken to ban horse-drawn carriages."
Hansen responded to the latest calls for a ban, saying, "It's unfortunate that every time something happens in our business—and we are in public all the time—that it has to be politicized to meet somebody's agenda."
The industry was in the spotlight earlier this month when the Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced it had charged the coachman in the 2022 viral collapse of carriage horse Ryder in Hell's Kitchen.