Davidson County was the scene of a serious and unusual truck accident in early January when a truck driver struck four horses and four riders on Cunningham Road. Two people were left with serious injuries and two horses were killed in the truck crash, which occurred around 6 pm on Sunday night.
A family was riding horses at dusk and headed home when a truck smashed into two of the riders. Davidson County Police say that 27-year-old Eric Turner and nine-year-old Sebastian Swanson were both thrown from their horses and raced to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Swanson remains in serious condition with a broken pelvis, broken collarbone, and crushed ankle while Turner, the boyfriend of Swanson’s mother, is in critical condition with a head injury, collapsed lung, internal bleeding, and cracked ribs.
The riders were crossing the street at the time of the truck accident. The two horses were thrown into ditches on either side of the truck and were killed instantly.
The 59-year-old truck driver, Ellis Barry Hughes, said that the party was not wearing reflective gear and should not have been riding at night. Other witnesses, though, say that it was still light and that the trucker should have seen them and stopped much sooner than he did. North Carolina State Patrol officers said that charges would not be filed against the truck driver. However, an investigation is ongoing.