LA SALLE COUNTY, IL- According to newstrib.com, eight people suffered injuries in an accident involving a horse-drawn carriage in La Salle County. The accident took place at the Fox River Resorton Saturday, July 7, 2018. The victims ranged from age 1 to over 30. The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office reported that the accident occurred when the horses got “spooked” causing the carriage to turn over.*
A representative from Holiday Inn Club Vacations stated that the handlers lost control of the horses when one of the guested tapped one horse causing it to react. The handlers made an unsuccessful attempt to calm the two-horse team, but the horse ran, andthe carriage collided with an object. None of the eight injuries are believed to be serious.
While horse and carriages are only used for recreational purposes in many places, there are still places in the United States where it is not uncommon to see horse and carriages being usedon the roadways as a means of transportation. In Pennsylvania for example, the large Amish population uses horse-drawn carriages and motorists have to share the road with these vehicles.
In the last ten years, 23 people have diedin horse and buggy crashes in Pennsylvania, and there has been a reported total of 633 crashes, many of which resulted in injuries. In the majority of accidents, the operator of the buggy is not at fault. One of the causes of horse-drawn carriage crashes is drivers or others distracting or spooking the horses. Driver behaviors such as yelling out a window, honking a horn or flashing high beams at a horse can lead to tragedy because it can cause the horses to act erratically. While it may be frustrating for drivers to have to share the road with slower forms of traffic, horse-drawn carriages have a right to use the roadways, much like cyclists. It is important to be conscientious of every type of vehicle on the road.
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If you were injured in a vehicle accident in Illinois, contact Stein & Shulman, LLC, today to discuss your legal options with a skilled horse-drawn carriage crash attorney in Illinois. You can schedule a case consultation at no cost to you by calling our office at 312.422.0500.
Stein & Shulman, LLC
134 N LaSalle St, #820
Chicago, IL 60602
312.422.0500
