A horse was killed and the carriage she was pulling totaled but with 11 kids on-board it could have been far worse. It happened on Saturday evening on Faber's Road when the horse and carriage and a car crashed head on. The car was driven by an off duty police officer and we investigated why the horse and carriage owners say he may be to blame.
Eyewitness,
"I looked and I heard bang."
What he heard was a horse and carriage crashing head into a blue dodge on Saturday evening. The aftermath was a smashed windshield, a dead horse in the middle of the street, a dented front bumper, and a totaled carriage. And as gory as these images are, these pictures still don't tell the full story. This eyewitness saw the chaos firsthand.
Eyewitness,
"We just heard kids bawling, kids in the bush, kids crying, and blood all around. We couldn't see who get hurt from who didn't because one of them was bloody but it was off another child so we just tried to get them in vehicles and rushed everybody to the hospital."
The 11 children ranging in age from 3 to 11 years old were attending a birthday party for Chester Haylock's godson. He chartered the carriage to take the kids for a short ride down Faber's Road. 22-year-old Godfrey Elliot was in charge of the horse and he told us that after the buggy passed this speed bump, the car veered into his lane.
Godfrey Elliot, Driver
"When we got on Faber's Road I didn't expect anything. Everybody was having a good time and thing and I saw the car swerving over his side of the road, the left hand side, and well about fifty yards from me he made a sudden swing and he was still going about 60 to 65 miles per hour and straight into the horse."
Chester Haylock, Rented Carriage
"Something told us that an accident occurred with the horse and carriage and that somebody had picked up the kids and were taking them to the hospital. So we went to the hospital and when we got there, my kid was alright but other kids were there all messed up and thing."
Keith Swift,
Do you blame the person you rented the carriage from?
Chester Haylock,
"No. The person who was driving the vehicle."
That person is police sergeant Clement Cacho. Charges are pending against him but the law might also have consequences for Elliot.
ASP Francis Williams, Commander Traffic Department
"Police Sergeant Clement Cacho, who is attached to the Crime Investigation Branch, Eastern Division, was driving his personal car along Faber's Road and shortly after passing a bump, a speed bump, he encountered some difficulties in the car, hence his losing control and colliding with the horse driven carriage. As we speak we are preparing charges. We are looking at both parties to be charged in this accident. At this time we cannot specify the exact charges, both from the horse and carriage point and from whatever offense the police officer may have committed."
The company's owner and co-founder Ian Jones says he believes his driver did nothing wrong and they are the real victims.
Ian Jones,
"This is the third horse that I had bought and he has been with the company for, this February would have made two years and the horse is valued around $2,000. The carriage itself is valid around $5-$6,000 and everyday without the horse and carriage is a loss in revenue for us because we work on a daily basis out at the tourism village."
Although the Commander of the Police Department's Traffic Department couldn't confirm Press Officer G. Michael Reid says that Cacho was reaching for his cell phone and that factored into his losing control of the vehicle. Up to this evening, Elliot had not been charged.
