By Rick Armon
Akron Beacon Journal
WOOSTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Sgt. C. Otis Smith knew he had to time his leap perfectly.
A runaway horse and Amish buggy with no driver were barreling toward him westbound in the wrong lane on U.S. Route 250 near state Route 83 in Wooster Township around 7 a.m. Sunday.
He and the other officers who had gathered there outside their vehicles to try to stop the horse were worried that if the animal continued running to U.S. Route 30, there could be a serious accident or even fatality.
So Smith, who works for the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Wayne County, decided to jump aboard the passing buggy to bring the horse and vehicle to a safe stop.
“You have that second when it goes by you and you grab hold [of the buggy] and jump on,” Smith said Monday morning, recalling the incident. “I had to be quick.”
A body camera from a Wooster police officer captured Smith leaping aboard.
When he got into the buggy, Smith pulled the reins, bringing the horse to a stop.
“The horse kicked up and was so exhausted that it collapsed to the ground,” Smith said.
The horse ran about 10 miles from Apple Creek. It was seen by a veterinarian and was not injured, just tired.
Smith estimated that the horse was going anywhere from 20 to 25 mph.
The horse was running westbound in the eastbound lane of the road. Fortunately, the traffic was light at that time of day.
The owner reported that the horse had run away.
As the horse approached authorities, they waved their hands and yelled “Whoa!” But that didn’t slow it down.
That’s when Smith jumped aboard. Other officers can be heard laughing as he’s taken for a ride before climbing in the buggy.
Everything happened so quickly that Smith said he didn’t have time to think about a 2,000-pound animal potentially running him over or getting dragged by the buggy.
“It didn’t go through my mind,” he said.
©2017 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)