Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Wild West heroics brings runaway horse carriage to safe stop in Indianapolis

A local teenager showed a flare for Wild West heroics in bringing a runaway horse and carriage to a safe halt in downtown Indianapolis and saving two passengers.

The driver of the Yellow Rose Carriage was knocked from her seat Sunday afternoon after the carriage was hit by a van driven by a man police said was drunk.

William Basler, 19, saw the runaway carriage and began chasing it on foot.

A taxi driver saw what was going on, slowed and told Basler to jump in. The cab then sped up and passed the carriage and Basler jumped out of the taxi and on to the buggy, grabbing the reins and stopping the horse.

"It was just instinct," he said later. "I was just worried about the people inside of it."

The van driver faces several preliminary charges, including felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanour counts of driving under the influence, public intoxication and operating a vehicle without a license.

The horse was not injured.

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