Runaway horses cause car crashes

ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, Va. - A group of runaway horses caused a series of car crashes in Isle of Wight County Wednesday evening near Carrsville, Va.  Four people were hurt; one of them flown to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for treatment.

From the comfort of her living room, Gail Allen doesn't want to remember the horrifying experience she had Wednesday night, but she says she can't get the images out of her mind.

"The only thing I saw was just like a herd of horses galloping full speed toward our car."

Allen says it was dark and there was no time for her husband, Neil, to react.

"There was just this horrible noise, like you would be tossed around in an earthquake sort of, and just tossing and thudding and just horrible, horrible sounds," she said.

Those were the sounds of four horses smashing through the the Allen's windshield and flipping over the roof of their van. Then, it was over. Their van was destroyed and everything was quiet except for one noise.

"The only sound I could hear at all was a gurgling sound from Neil and I thought he was dying," Allen said.

Emergency workers cut Neil from the van and flew him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with a broken nose and jaw.  At the time, Gail had no clue two other people were hurt on nearby roads after having similar incidents with other loose horses.

Sgt. Michelle Cotten of the State Police tells WAVY.com that the animals came from a farm on Holly Run Drive. Twenty of them broke through a fence and ran onto the road. Cotten said it is possible a storm that moved through the area Wednesday night may have spooked the horses. Seven of them died in the crashes, police said.

"It was horrible," Allen said.

She is upset the horses died, but glad that she and her husband survived. She still has to nurse a large gash in her arm and a cut in her head, but as long as she can have her husband of almost 50 years home soon, she says she will be OK.

"I just hope no one ever has to go through this experience. It was absolutely the most horrible thing anyone can imagine."

Cotten says the surviving horses are safely back on the farm. Investigators say they don't plan on charging the horses' owner. WAVY.com tried several times to get in touch with the owner, but he our calls were not returned.