Video Released: Hero Trooper Saves Amish Girl in Runaway Buggy
Remember the story of a New York State trooper who saved an Amish girl in a runaway buggy?
Last month, the NY State Police also released video of the incident, which I filed away, and, frankly, forgot to share with you 🙂
So I’ve got that for you today. To recall what happened, as reported in the Sun Community News:
On May 16, Trooper James T. Egan Jr. was driving on Route 95 in Moira when he spotted an Amish wagon traveling at a high rate of speed.
The horse appeared to be out of control, running through intersections, with the young child as the sole occupant inside.
Trooper Egan knew the potential dangers to both the public and child and tried to use his patrol vehicle to block and stop the wagon.
After numerous failed attempts, he led the wagon onto a grassy lawn, but the horse refused to stop. Trooper Egan jumped from his vehicle and grabbed the reigns.
It wasn’t until the trooper was pinned between a tree and the wagon, that the horse and wagon finally stopped abruptly.
In the video below you can see (and hear) the brave work of Trooper Egan, who chased down the buggy and brought it to a stop. You can hear the poor child’s wails as he struggles to bring it under control.
This video is not graphic, but may be slightly disturbing (you’ll know the moment when Egan gets pinned) even though ultimately all turned out okay.
After he brings the buggy to a stop, bystanders come over to assist and check on him. “Are you okay?” one asks. “No” Egan groans, as he staggers away. A kind woman comes over to help him and tells him “you did a good job, sir, you did”. He later says he’s alright but I’m assuming medical attention arrived shortly after this video concludes.
Another (or possibly the same woman) driving away says “Excellent job. I know you’re hurt but you did. That little girl could have died”. Thankfully, as we covered before, Egan recovered from his injuries and is now back on the job – and will have a story for the grandkids.
The video brings to life the drama of the situation and the courage it took to get this runaway buggy under control. Trooper Egan showed he was true pro in this moment of need.
Definitely a good cop
Glad he is OK. It is refreshing to see body cam footage of a good interaction of a cop with the public. And kudos to the passing motorists who came to help and make sure he was OK.
I’ve re-trained three of these runaway horses. The trauma they can endure is incredible. The hardest thing I’ve done, is to regain the trust of a horse that was left to run wildly out of control and injure its body and mind. One took a month of simply feeding it, before it stopped attacking me through the bars of the round pen. It would kick at me, it would try to bite me, it had to be sedated to get it shoes off.
We put horse ibuprofen in with its feed to get the swelling down. Then I started giving it cold showers with the garden hose to sooth her pain. She hated people for a long time. I eventually put a small pony in with her, and she liked the companionship of him. An entire summer went by, and then one day she was just waiting for me at the gate. I touched her face, I breathed into her nostrils, I used my softest voice to assure her everything was going to be okay.
There are many horses with trauma. Those with what the Amish call “sticky starters” that simply would rather take a severe whipping than take even one step forward have experienced some type of trauma. Those that run into anything they can to get out of working. Cars, barns houses, trees, bushes. They have popped a rivet, and it takes a lot of analysis to figure out their glitch. The horses I’ve worked with that were involved in run aways were always the most complex. Yet, with time I was able to get them to something useful again, to go for a ride, or even get them in front of a buggy.
Horse PTSD is a real thing.
COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
I HAVE IN MY TRAVELS WITH THE AMISH HAVE SEEN MANY TIMES YOUNG KIDS USING A BUGGY. THERE SHOULD BE A LAW NOT ALLOWING ANYONE UNDER 16 TO DRIVE A BUGGY. MANY OF THE TRAGEDIES THE AMISH DEAL WITH IF FROM SHEER NEGLECT NOT WATCHING THEIR CHILDREN. THEN THEY WILL SAY IT WAS GODS WILL! ALRIGHT NOW YOU THAT SUPPORT THE AMISH NO MATTER WHAT YOU CAN CRITISIZE ME NOW BUT THE TRUTH WILL ALWAYS STAND.
I hope he gets a medal or something
It looks as if this doesn’t just involve him running after the horse and grabbing the reins – hardly an easy thing to do – but continuing to pull the horse back after he’s injured! Impressive conduct, and really just amazing to see simple heroism in a dangerous situation.
Is there any explanation given as to how the child came to be alone in the buggy? I mean, is this a getaway horse, or is has the adult been thrown out or something?
Video?
Hi!
I do not see a video, just pictures.
Sunny