On Aug. 24, park rangers and the Mount Desert and Bar Harbor fire departments responded to a report of a horse-drawn carriage accident in Acadia National Park.
According to Acadia National Park Management Assistant John Kelly, at approximately 11 a.m., the park received reports of a privately owned horse-drawn carriage that had rolled over. The carriage was occupied by a 72-year-old woman and a 43-year-old woman, both from Vermont.
Responding personnel were told that the carriage was being driven up the “first hill from Wildwood Stables” and apparently the horse began to back up unexpectedly. As the carriage went backward, the right wheel left the carriage road and the horse, carriage, and passengers rolled down “a steep embankment.”
The carriage came to rest upside down with the passengers underneath. The horse was also found upside down by the immediate respondents who were Wildwood Stables staff.
The women were able to walk back up the embankment with some assistance. Both were transported to MDI Hospital by ambulance. The 72-year-old woman was experiencing back and lower hip pain.
The 43-year-old woman was experiencing shoulder pain and had a suspected broken wrist.
The horse was reportedly not injured.
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