Wild horse rampage leaves 3 animals dead, cars damaged

Chaos erupted on the Bernard Lodge main road in St Catherine on Friday night when several horses escaped from nearby stables, trampling a dozen vehicles in a wild rampage.

The incident, which occurred around 8:30 p.m., left three horses dead and at least 14 vehicles badly damaged. Fortunately, no passengers were seriously injured.

The horses, which were described as being in a state of panic, reportedly stormed down the road, terrifying commuters.

Taxi operator Alman Harris, who plies the Naggo Head to Spanish Town route, was one of the first to encounter the frenzied animals.

“I usually approach the corner with caution and, as I came into the corner, mi see a lot of horses, so mi stop. Another taxi came up behind me and pushed me into the horses and I see the whole of them behaving like them mad,” Harris told The Sunday Gleaner.

He described how the horses began jumping onto his car, shattering the windshield and even climbing onto the roof.

“I then see dem run off the road into the bushes and I think they had left, but dem come right back out and mash up a whole heap a car dat park on the side. Dem just start climb on top of the car dem and a mash them up. A crazy thing!” he recounted.

Despite the terrifying encounter, Harris was relieved that no one in his car was injured.

He urged authorities to find the owners of the horses and ensure the affected motorists are compensated.

Another motorist, Parkland Brown, shared a similar experience, saying that about seven horses charged at his vehicle.

“I stopped to see if they would pass, but they started crashing into the car. Some jumped on the bonnet and the top and mash out the car glass. One of the horse foot was in the car, so I leaned away so as not to get hurt,” he said.

Brown noted that the area where the incident occurred is poorly lit, and called on authorities to install street lights along the roadway.

“The owners of the horses need to exercise control over their herd,” he added.

Robert Reynolds, another driver, described hitting one of the three dead horses on the road.

“I was driving along and I saw lights flashing and mi hear ‘Boom!’. Den mi realise mi hit one of the dead horse. My front bumper tear off but mi thank God it wasn’t worse,” he said.

The motorists expressed concern on Saturday as none of the farms in the area had contacted them or publicly claimed responsibility for the animals.

When The Sunday Gleaner made contact on Saturday, the operators of one of the stables in the area declined to comment on the matter, as a police investigation was ongoing.

Several calls to another nearby stable went unanswered.

The police were also tightlipped, only noting that an investigation was under way.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com