“It was a miracle that no one was killed,” said one person after they had witnessed an incident in Mullingar town that could easily have resulted in someone’s death or serious injuries.
The incident occurred at the Dublin Bridge, Mullingar on Tuesday of last week, 26 March. As most people in Mullingar know the Dublin Bridge is a very busy junction. There is a constant flow of traffic down the Dublin Road, while there is also very heavy traffic coming up from the Delvin Road – Springfield area turning down into the town centre.
In the opposite direction traffic flows up the Dublin Road or turns left down the Delvin Road. This is also a very busy junction with people out walking, or shopping, or pushing buggies, while many people also run along the canal line.
The area is very busy with businesses such as Millie Walsh’s Maxol Filling Station – one of the busiest filling stations in Mullingar, while Mullingar Autos are always busy selling cars and have loads of cars in their forecourts.
At approximately 2.30pm, it seemed a perfectly normal Tuesday afternoon with traffic busy moving in both directions, when suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, a horse bolted up from the canal line and dashed across the main road.
The horse, had a small trap attached to its hind legs. At great speed the horse bolted out from the canal line, on the side of Millie Walsh’s filling station and dashed across the road to a small green area close to where Mullingar Autos have their cars located.
distress
The horse appeared to be in great distress and it was clear that the trap at his hind legs was making him feel very uncomfortable. As the horse attempted to shake off the trap and wriggle free, he struck one of the cars parked in the forecourt of Mullingar Autos. The horse damaged the car leaving a major dent in the boot of the car, while blood from the horse and hairs belonging to the horse were clearly visible on the back of the damaged car.
The horse then ran off down the canal line. The horse was pursued by a man who appeared to be following the horse trying to catch up with him.
fortunate
It was extremely fortunate that the traffic lights appeared to be red at the very second the horse bolted across the road. It was very lucky that no one was walking by at the time. If the traffic had been moving in either direction at the time, or if someone had been walking by, or out running, then the incident would surely have resulted in serious injuries or even death.
This was a horrific incident and those people who were driving by in their vehicles, or walking in the area at the time were shocked.It was clear by a video of the incident that the horse was in great distress.
An area a short distance away, down the canal line, is used as an area where a few horses can be seen grazing on a daily basis, on some very poor land. It is understood that a number of eye witnesses who saw the incident were horrified at what happened.
At this stage it is not clear who is going to pay for the damage to the car. It is also not clear if the ISPCA have been contacted in relation to the incident.
