VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — We are learning more about an accident on Great Neck Road involving a horse-drawn carriage.
Virginia Beach Police say a Toyota Camry hit the carriage from behind and injured four people. It happened around 1 am. on Saturday.
The driver of the carriage who doesn’t want to be identified said he works for Smithfield Horse Carriage.
He said after working an event on Halloween, he decided to hang out with friends and take the horse and carriage with him.
He claims he and the owner had an agreement that he was allowed to use it whenever he wanted to. The driver said he was not operating the carriage under company affiliation while out that night.
But the President of the Smithfield Horse Carriage, Allison Reynold, claims she never had that kind of agreement. She told us on Sunday, the employee didn’t return the horse and carriage and decided to take it for a ride.
13News Now reached out to the owner for more information, but when we called she said she was working and hung up.
The driver of the horse and buggy said the accident happened on the crosswalk near Cape Henry Plaza. Police say one of the victims has life-threatening injuries.
Many people want to know if it's legal to ride in a horse and carriage on a main road like Great Neck? The answer is yes, according to Attorney John Baker with Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers.
“It is allowed, it is legal. They just have to abide by the same rules a car would have to abide by,” he explained.
The driver of the horse and carriage said he had the proper lighting and followed the rules of the road. He’s been driving the horse for several years.
“You have to have headlights on it. You got to have taillights on it," Baker explained. "If you got those and follow the other requirements then you can operate on the road.”
Police are still investigating the accident. Investigators haven’t filed any charges at this point.