PLYMOUTH, Maine — Just seconds before a white quarter horse named Jack was hit and killed and another horse named Chaos was injured Tuesday night, the rider of Chaos was tossed to the ground, she said on Thursday.
Jennifer Smith, who was riding Jack, dismounted at about 8 p.m. to see if her friend and neighbor Judy Keyser was OK. At about the same time Smith’s husband, Matthew Smith, arrived with his truck, parked across the road, and turned on his vehicle’s flashers.
At that point, Phillip Hopkins, 31, of Plymouth, who was driving down the Ridge Road, apparently was caught in a bottleneck created by the horses and the truck, according to police, and struck both horses.
“Both front headlights hit Jack’s legs,” Smith said of the 14-year-old white quarter horse she owned for nearly two years and used to teach people to ride.
“He hit Jack first and then he hit Chaos,” said Keyser, who was still holding Chaos’ reins at the time. The impact of the car “tore my horse from my hands and there was nothing I could do,” the longtime rider said.
“Both of the horses went up over the car and my horse, Chaos, went up over the top and landed on Jack,” Keyser said.
Chaos then took off running even though he suffered front knee and back leg injuries. Jack never recovered from his injuries and died on the side of the road about half a mile from his home.
Penobscot County Sheriff’s Deputy Noel Santiago, who investigated the collision, said Thursday that he didn’t believe alcohol or speed were factors in the deadly collision and he did not expect any charges would be filed. The speed limit in the area is 45 miles per hour.
The impact caused glass to fly into the car and injure the driver and his 21-year-old female passenger. She was taken to the hospital for a puncture wound and Hopkins were treated at the scene.
The impact was severe enough that “the saddle was embedded in the vehicle’s windshield,” Keyser said. “They had to use a pry bar to get it out of the windshield.”
The two riders say there are bright yellow “Caution Horse” signs on Ridge Road because there are so many horses living on the roughly 4-mile-long route.
“There are 23 horses living on this road,” Keyser said.
She added that many drivers use the road as a shortcut to travel between Newport and Plymouth and that many go faster than the 45 mph speed limit.
Besides wanting to alert drivers to be more cautious because of all the horses in the area, Keyser said the two women expected to contact town officials about trying to lower the speed limit.
“There are so many of us riding down here,” Keyser said. “In our eyes, they’re not just a horse. They’re part of the family.”
Millions of acres of woodland in Maine, yet riders insist upon riding on the roads.
I have to agree. Riders need to know the roads they are riding on.
Horses do not belong on roads. Way to unpredictable.
You are right in that they they can be unpredictable, as almost anything with a brain can be. However, you are wrong in that they do not belong on roads. We can all share the road…horseback riders, pedestrians, bicyclists. Is it really asking too much of people to slow down for A FEW SECONDS and give a wide berth, or stop if there is an oncoming vehicle and wait, again, A FEW SECONDS, before proceeding? I just don’t understand the rush rush rush and “I own this road” mentality of a lot of people behind the wheel.
A lot of folks on here are constantly whining about “folks from away” who are always trying to urbanize things and change things around. Well, horses are a part of our rural community and have been for centuries. Yes, there are miles of trails, but a lot of times riders need to travel a part of the roadway to access them. Cut ’em a little slack and just take a deep breath and RELAX for a second.
But, I suppose, haters will always hate no matter what the issue at hand is. It’s just in the DNA I guess.
It has nothing to do with MY DNA it’s the horses DNA that should be looked at, a horse will do what it wans when it wants no matter how much training it as had. But being after dark only adds to the danger and unprectabilty
I suppose we will have to take your word for that seeing as how you are obviously someone who works with and trains these magnificent animals.
First, the grammar police. (*too Sorry, I was brought up with too many teachers in the family!) Second, horses have more rights than cars, since they were here first. It is in the law books, and something you have to learn before you get your license up here in Maine.
If being “unpredictable” is a reason to ban something from the public roadways then I suppose we’ll have to ban a large portion of the human population, including Mr. Hopkins.
Horses were on the roads long before cars were and they have the absolute right of way.
Something about going too fast sure, but notice the time of day 8pm. Sad accident, think in the future, close dusk is too late to have horses on the roads.
So the husband parks on the Opposite side of the road with his flashers (and probably headlights) on, causing the oncoming traffic to give him a wide berth, then the rider looses control of the horse and is thrown moments before the accident? These people are an accident waiting to happen. Then they want to blame someone else!
If they were rididng after dark did they have some kind of light as required by law? What about retroreflective tape on their rididng gear? It sounds like the horse owners are the ones that should be cited.
There are hundreds of miles of trails in Maine, do you really think your horse likes walking on blacktop?
how do you not see a white quarter horse? its the size of a moose.
everyone needs to slow down. what if it was a car accident instead of a horse rider accident? who would you blame then? we need to drive defensively; ie, assume there is an obstacle in any area of the road you can not actually see. I child could have been riding a bike and fallen down.
You don’t see the white horse because the husbands lights are in your eyes from the opposite side of teh road. Any logical person would think the danger was near the truck with it’s hazard lights on and move over further to the other side. As I said, a bicycle has reflectors fore and aft for just this reason. If you want to ride a horse on a public way you need to follow the rules. The Amish have reflectors on their buggies for the same reason. It’s the law.
trust me, if i fell down on my bike, chances are, you won’t see the reflector.
slow down. share the road. for children. bikes. horses. and dogs.
(if there were apple pies and baseball in the roads, I’d say slow down for them too)
;)
Slow down, share the road blah blah I am sure that this guy saw the horse and said “how many points if I hit that?” and did it. NO! kinda sounds as though the horse owner and her husband were taking up a good part of the road if his car was on one side and she was on the other. Ever think of that? People on horses as well as motorists need to pay more attention I dont think the car driver should only get the blame but yet that is just my opinion. I am sure hes feeling pretty bad for doing it.
You say that then how come people hit moose?? Granted they arent white but if it is the size of a moose you should see it? Sounds like there were more contributing factors here.
You are right hopper. It was a dangerous scene. It was dark and the truck caused a bottleneck with his lights somewhat blinding oncoming drivers. too bad he wouldn’t have pulled in behind the horses to block the traffic and allow a free lane for traffic to pass by. My condolences to all involved.
I believe the real problem here is, many drivers today do not want to wait. Many times as I have approached a situation ahead, I am forced to drive to my edge of the highway to avoid someone going around the situation in my lane. As I understand the law, this is unlawful, to say nothing about how dangerous it is. In a school zone, I had someone try to pass me on the right, because I had slowed to the zone speed limit. Fortunately, a county sheriff was there and took care of the matter.
To all criticizing the riders, horses are legally allowed on most Maine roads, we are after all, a rural state. Remember, it could just as easily have been a couple of kids walking home from a friend’s house with the truck being a parent come to find them.
The driver of the truck clearly was driving faster than he could see or wasn’t paying attention if he didn’t see a big white horse in his headlights.. The truck pulled over with flashers should have been his clue to slow down and pay attention.
Horses have more rights than cars. If a rider on a horse signals for the car to slow down, then then car has to slow down (or stop if the rider indicates as such). The problem is the roads are geared for cars, not horses. Riders still need to be aware of the road they are on, and the dangers of the road.
I am a former horse owner; I always paid attention to the cars and everything else going on.
So sorry for your loss of Jack. Hope Chaos makes a full recovery.
Should be charged with reckless driving or vehicular assault. Even though the accident was severe enough the saddle was embedded into the windshield and managed to take down two 1000+ pound animals they somehow decided speed wasn’t a factor. So it’s not like the caution signs, flashing lights, white horses or anything else wouldn’t have been noticed seeing as how he wasn’t under the influence and driving the correct speed.
I too wonder whatever happened to common sense and “driving safely for the conditions.” This is Maine. Most streets and rural roads don’t have street lights, and when it’s dark, it’s DARK. Heck, we don’t even get much light pollution out in the sticks. Also, there are deer EVERYWHERE this time of year. Those 2 factors alone should warrant an easing up of the ‘ol throttle alone. Add to that the scenario in the above article, one has to wonder why the driver didn’t just STOP to see if their fellow travelers were okay. I mean, did it not even dawn onto them that there was any emergent situation to warrant such an unorthodox visual??
People just need to ease up on the self-absorption is all. We are all in this life together, for better or worse. It would do some hearts good to think of others every now and again.
Well said.
I had a friend who died when she ran into a wild horse in the mid west.
And here I thought Plymouth was a car
If both headlights struck the horse, I’m wondering why it was broadside in the road. People are awfully quick to say he was speeding but the trained deputy obviously didn’t think so. A bad combination of circumstances that resulted in a tragic accident.
And if it was broadside in the road, and white, the most visible color at night, why didn’t he see it and stop? The law, and more importantly, common sense, says you don’t drive faster than you can see to stop.
Maybe he was distracted by the flashers. Did you ever think he might have been giving the truck a wide berth. I’m glad you know so much more than the deputy in regard to the speed of the truck.
How horrible! Sounds like the driver wasn’t driving defensively and was noT aware of conditions.
i remember when judy and some other girls rode there horses in burlington i always went ez by them and gave them a wide area just in case the horses did something like buck or kick , these people who own these horses have a ton of money time sweat and love for there 4 legged pals and we all need to respect the horses and there riders while operating on maine roads such a sad accident
Maine State Law Title 29-A,§2055. Animals on a public way
1. Riding animals or driving animal-drawn vehicles. A person riding an animal or driving an
animal-drawn vehicle on a public way has the rights and is subject to the
duties of a vehicle operator, except those provisions that by their nature have
no application.
2. Unattended animal-drawn vehicle. A person may not allow an animal-drawn
vehicle to be on a public way unattended unless the vehicle is reasonably
fastened.
3. Frightened animals.
When a person riding, driving or leading an animal that appears to be
frightened signals by putting up a hand or by other visible sign, an operator
approaching from the opposite direction must stop as soon as possible and
remain stationary as long as necessary and reasonable to allow the animal to
pass.
3-A. Passing animals.
When traveling in the same direction as an animal on a way, an operator
must use reasonable caution in passing the animal.
4. Annoyance. An
operator may not knowingly operate a motor vehicle in a manner to annoy,
startle, harass or frighten an animal being ridden or driven on or near a
public way.
5. Throwing object.
An operator or person in a motor vehicle may not throw an object or
substance from the vehicle toward an animal being ridden or driven on or near a
public way.
how do you not see a WHITE quarter horse. they are huge!
The speed factor should be measured and in-attention should of been charged at the very least. These horses should not have been hit as the owner/riders were doing everything right. If you can’t see a couple of horses than you should not be driving, at any speed. Appears this event is without Justice at least so far….
We need to hear from Deputy Noel Santiago and how he reached his conclusions as they certainly do not appear to be accurate………..
I am sorry for the loss of jack, and I hope Chaos will be alright. To Judy, Jenn and the occupants of the car I hope you all recover from your injuries it was a tragic event for all involved.
did they eat the horse
Dont be so effin rude ur comment is really uncalled for.