PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — An Amish couple and their horse escaped major injury last Friday in an accident with a truck on Main Street in Presque Isle.
Eli and Naomi Glick of Easton were riding south on Main Street, also known as Route 1, in their horse-drawn buggy around 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 30, when the horse veered across the four-lane roadway and collided with a truck heading north, according to Presque Isle police officer Joey Seeley.
“One of the reins that Glick used to steer the horse let go for an unknown reason, and the horse and buggy went through all four lanes of traffic,” Seeley said.
Richard Harvey was driving his 2004 Ford Ranger north in the far opposite lane, near the JP Market convenience store, when the horse crossed into the lane, Seeley said.
The truck attempted to stop but still hit the horse, which went over the top of the hood and broke the windshield, Seeley said.
The Glicks were not injured and with help from police were able to free the horse and move it to a nearby horse stall at the Threads of Hope Thrift Store parking lot, where they performed first aid on the horse’s bleeding legs, Seeley said.
The horse’s current condition is unclear, but it is believed to have survived, Seeley said Wednesday.
“It did have some bleeding. But it did get up and I didn’t see any broken bones.”
Seeley said he told the Glicks that he was concerned about the horse continuing the ride to Easton. Glick responded that he would monitor the horse’s condition and either walk it home or call a neighbor for help, Seeley said. Glick ended up asking a neighbor with a trailer to pick up the horse to take it to their home, Seeley said.
The police closed two lanes of the four lanes of traffic for a few minutes while a machine removed the truck from the scene, Seeley said.
The accident could have been worse, the officer added.
“The driver did a good job trying to avoid it,” Seeley said. “I think the way Harvey reacted, he probably at least saved the horse’s life as well as the people driving it because there’s no seat belts in the buggy.”
