Heartbreaking!

[Equine_Dream]

Yet another reminder this week about how vulnerable horses are on the roads. This happened just half an hour away from where I live. An idiot overtook a funeral procession and ploughed into the horse drawn carriage. Unfortunatly one of the horses was so badly injured it had to be destroyed on the side of the road. How someone could be so utterly stupid is beyond me.
WARNING the link contains pictures some may find upsetting; https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1688774938074491&id=1648133555471963&fs=5

 

[Lakota_Lizzie]

How sad, very upsetting for all involved i'm sure.

 

[MrsS1987]

Awful. I live in Barry and felt sick reading this yesterday. So sad :-(

 

[Evie91]

Just awful. Hope person had a bloomin' good excuse for overtaking a funeral cortège...
My sympathies go out to the family and to the business/horse owner.

 

[Clare85]

Saw this on facebook. Selfish, mindless idiocy! I hope the driver of the car is haunted by the images of the scene she caused for a long time. In my book, there is no excuse for causing this sort of horrific incident - bar some sort of medical issue causing loss of consciousness! As far as I understand things, this driver is claiming the sun was in her eyes! Why on earth would you overtake anything, let alone a horse drawn hearse, if you can't see?!

My thoughts are with the horse's owners and also with the family of the deceased who had an already difficult day made a million times worse. I hope they throw the book at this selfish idiot!

 

[madlady]

I hope the driver gets locked up. There just aren't words for people like that (and I'm using the word people loosely)

 

[Orca]

In the photo's, the car and carriage are both in the middle of the road. Was the carriage turning at the time? I'm just wondering how on earth this occurred, I suppose. Sun in the eyes or not, I can't understand how anyone would fail to see such a large horse drawn vehicle and a pair of horses. Shocking to read that the horse which was pts was hit with enough force to throw it over its partner. What on earth was the driver thinking? An older lady, apparently.

 

[Sukistokes2]

This is just sad, I saw the heart rending pictures on face book. Poor family, poor horse, poor owner and poor carriage driver, who I read was air lifted to hospital. So pointless, I think she should be banned from the roads.

Orca, you have solved a mystery as to which side the horse was on, I was confused by the picture! That makes it even more shocking, no doubt she will get away with it.

 

[rowan666]

It's just beyond comprehension how aside from the fact that its extremely disrespectful to take over a funeral cortège, that she used the excuse she couldn't see because the sun was in her eyes yet she still overtook at enough speed to send such a huge horse flying over the one next to it and cause so much damage! she's an absolute disgrace and I hope at the very least she gets a lifetime ban (although she'll probobly just get a slap on the wrist) and it haunts her forever

 

[pennyturner]

Sadly, no amount of good road positioning, visibility, indicating, lights or warning will stop people from overtaking slow vehicles turning right. Some people have an extreme sense of entitlement behind the wheel, and next to no judgement.
The carriage driver didn't stand a chance; you'd think 20 cars behind would be enough protection.

 

[wills_91]

What a horrible incident for all involved.

 

[zebrahorse]

Absolutely heartbreaking. I hope the driver faces some sort of charges, "the sun was in my eyes" is not an excuse for overtaking a funeral procession (how rude!) and causing such a horrific collision. Pure stupidity.

All my thoughts go out to the horse's owners/handlers and the family of the deceased. I cannot imagine having such a sad, sentimental ceremony utterly destroyed by this moron.

 

[HashRouge]

This is incredibly sad for all involved.

I really don't understand how this could have happened except for sheer carelessness on the driver's part. Some people are incapable of patience, and as others have said, saying "the sun was in my eyes" is the worst excuse you could give. Because if the sun was in your eyes to the extent that you couldn't see a massive horse-drawn vehicle then it is not safe to overtake, end of.

A friend of mine had her horse killed while out hacking 5 or 6 years ago and the driver used the same excuse. Maybe the sun was in his eyes, I don't know, but if the glare was so bad that he could barely see the road in front of him, should he really have been driving fast enough to kill a 17.2hh horse?? Some people have no concept of adapting their driving to the conditions.

 

[ChwaraeTeg]

Sad news, please sign and share attached petition in a bid to help to improve the non-car road users lot
I still cannot un-see the horrific photos of the scene of the accident. Just too awful to share.
The lovely photo in the petition is how they were only a few days ago xx


https://www.change.org/p/slow-down-...m=des-lg-share_petition-no_msg&fb_ref=Default

Many Thanks
Teg x

 

[Feival]

There is no excuse for overtaking a funeral procession full stop, No charges have been bought against the stupid woman. There is a campaign and petition to get #JusticeforWill. Will and Tom where the 2 Friesian Stallions pulling the Hurst and had been working together for 12 years. The lady who's funeral it was died of cancer and planned the funeral herself 2 years ago. The whole thing is heartbreaking and I'd love to have 5 minutes with the woman who was driving.

 

[Equine_Dream]

Its had me in tears several times today. The whole thing is utterly heartbreaking. The poor owner must be devastated. To loose such a beautiful animal that you have owned and worked with for 12 years is hard enough, but to loose him in such horrific circumstances is just beyond. Also my heart goes out to the other stallion Twm who has been left traumatised and pining for his friend.

 

[peaceandquiet1]

Pretty dreadful too for the mourners who were just trying to give their loved one a good send off-am totally horrified and have signed the petition.

 

[MasterBenedict]

In the photo's, the car and carriage are both in the middle of the road. Was the carriage turning at the time? I'm just wondering how on earth this occurred, I suppose. Sun in the eyes or not, I can't understand how anyone would fail to see such a large horse drawn vehicle and a pair of horses. Shocking to read that the horse which was pts was hit with enough force to throw it over its partner. What on earth was the driver thinking? An older lady, apparently.

From the sounds of things the carriage driver was thrown from his seat. I think that perhaps the carriage ended up here after this because there was no controL.

ETA, I also heard that the car clipped the back of the carriage as it tried to go past, perhaps causing it to veer in the road?

 

[PeterNatt]

This is yet again another unnecessary accident caused by bad driving.
Unfortunately the vast majority of horses that I have known that have been sadly killed in road accidents has been when the sun has been bright and low and drivers have claimed to be blinded by the sunlight.
Drivers seem to fail to use any common sense and slow down or stop in these conditions.
My sympathies to all those concerned.
What was the age of the driver?

 

[AdorableAlice]

Reading through the reports, it seems there were 20 cars behind the carriage all going to the service. Who overtakes that many cars plus a carriage and horses. What on earth was she thinking of. I am surprised her name has not surfaced yet. Surely she faces significant charges for dangerous driving ?

It is not just the horse that the owners have lost, it is his business, the horses were a pair and his only horses. So sad for all concerned.

 

[be positive]

Reading through the reports, it seems there were 20 cars behind the carriage all going to the service. Who overtakes that many cars plus a carriage and horses. What on earth was she thinking of. I am surprised her name has not surfaced yet. Surely she faces significant charges for dangerous driving ?

It is not just the horse that the owners have lost, it is his business, the horses were a pair and his only horses. So sad for all concerned.

Surely trying to overtake a line of 20 cars is an offence in itself even if no harm was done, sun in the eyes is irrelevant as there is no way she could have expected to have safely driven past on a normal single lane road, it would have been just the same if it was a queue of 20 vehicles driving slowly behind a tractor, a more common occurrence on most roads, no one in their right mind would pull out and attempt to overtake and even if they got away with it they would still potentially be done for dangerous driving if seen by police or caught on camera.

Assuming she gets off with a minor driving charge, slap on the wrist etc. will her insurance pay out for the loss of the horse, damage to the hearse, the loss of earnings that the business will suffer, not that it will bring back the horse but it would help them get back on their feet or will the horse be considered, as is so often the case, of no significant value so any payment will be a token?

 

[Fools Motto]

just so sad for all. My heart goes out to the carriage company, his remaining horse and the family of the deceased lady. It simply should not have happened.
Idiot driver.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Surely trying to overtake a line of 20 cars is an offence in itself even if no harm was done, sun in the eyes is irrelevant as there is no way she could have expected to have safely driven past on a normal single lane road, it would have been just the same if it was a queue of 20 vehicles driving slowly behind a tractor, a more common occurrence on most roads, no one in their right mind would pull out and attempt to overtake and even if they got away with it they would still potentially be done for dangerous driving if seen by police or caught on camera.

Assuming she gets off with a minor driving charge, slap on the wrist etc. will her insurance pay out for the loss of the horse, damage to the hearse, the loss of earnings that the business will suffer, not that it will bring back the horse but it would help them get back on their feet or will the horse be considered, as is so often the case, of no significant value so any payment will be a token?

If the police charge her the CPS will be involved. I so hope they do charge her.

 

[Feival]

I really really hope she is charged and her name made public.

 

[merlinsquest]

Apparently she is an ex-police woman, therefore the cynic in me thinks that actually she will walk away scot free. So far "no arrests have been made" Err sorry I'm pretty sure if I had gone steaming past a line of 20 vehicles, injured a person badly & killed a horse I would have been arrested. I am so angry & upset about this, what the hell was she thinking? Stupid ridiculous woman, hopefully her name will surface soon & she will get whats coming. For those asking about loss of income for the carriage master, there is a crowd funding page on FB.

 

[saskiahorsey]

Sickening but as lady was elderly i doubt police will do anything ... 3 weeks ago while feeding horses my car with my son in was parked in the layby next to gate ... A 70 yr old lady moved over aparently to let a car behind overtake and smashed into my car sending my car forwards and sideways 9000 worth of damage .... She then drove off without stopping ... We found out who she was through cctv at garage and 2 days later police informed me no further action as she was startled and panicked !!! My son had whiplash and grazes from the seatbelt ! My heart goes out to everyone involved but i doubt we will see any justice !

 

[merlinsquest]

So basically then old people can just drive about causing carnage, but that's fine because they are old??!! That is ridiculous, I doubt if I told the police I had caused a crash/killed someone/damaged their car but drove off because I was startled & panicked I would get much sympathy. This country is a total joke. Saskiahorsey, hope your son is ok..

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Stupid woman should loose her license, what is wrong with her. Your should always show respect and be patient when a funeral carriage or hearse is in route to the crem or church.

 

[muckypony]

I haven't stopped thinking about this all day, it's just heartbreaking. So many people hurt and so many awful effects all because of one stupid, impatient waste of oxygen.

I hope she gets what she deserves, but I doubt she will. If she doesn't get charged there will be outrage.

 

[Feival]

Where have you seen she is elderly? the lady who's funeral it was, was 73. Perhaps you are mistaken?