Driver slips past barricade and slams into horse at holiday parade, Utah cops say

When Steve Adams spotted a red car speeding past him as he rode in a Utah holiday lights parade, he knew something was wrong.

“I felt like someone or something was going to die,” Adams, president of the Diamond Fork Riding Club, told KSL. “One of our horses is going to die, one of our guys is going to die.”

The car slid “right into the back” of a horse in the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights parade the evening of Saturday, Nov. 26, Adams told the station.

“By the time I realized what was going on, we were rolling off the car and onto the asphalt,” rider Trent Anderson told KSL. He and his horse were “both sore” but not seriously hurt, he said.

Spanish Fork police arrested the driver, a 57-year-old Payson man, on suspicion of drunken driving and other charges, KUTV reported.

Officers said the man, who had a .228 blood alcohol content, told them he had been drinking since the night before and had five beers that day, according to the station.

Police had tried to stop the man at a temporary barricade along the parade route, but he ignored them and continued driving, KTVX reported. Officers chased after him on foot.

He drove about halfway down the parade route before striking the horse, KSTU reported.

A video on KSTU shot by an onlooker shows another officer dash into the street to try to wave down the driver as the car speeds past parade participants.

The driver told officers he thought he could escape them by driving around the barricade, KUTV reported.

He faces charges including reckless endangerment, negligence in a vehicle resulting in injury, failure to obey an officer, failure to stop at the command of law enforcement, failure to observe a barricade, driving under the influence, having an open container in a vehicle, driving without a valid license and resisting or obstructing an arrest, according to the station.

Spanish Fork is a city of 44,000 people about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City.

This story was originally published November 28, 2022 at 9:07 AM with the headline "Driver slips past barricade and slams into horse at holiday parade, Utah cops say."