VIDEO: Ohio Trooper Jumps into Driverless Buggy to Stop Runaway Horse

Sgt. C. Otis Smith of the Ohio State Highway Patrol knew he had to time his leap perfectly. A runaway horse and Amish buggy with no driver were barreling toward him westbound in the wrong lane on U.S. Route 250 near state Route 83 in Wooster Township around 7 a.m. Sunday.

He and the other officers who had gathered there outside their vehicles to try to stop the horse were worried that if the animal continued running to U.S. Route 30, there could be a serious accident or even fatality, Ohio.com reports.

So Smith decided to jump aboard the passing buggy to bring the horse and vehicle to a safe stop.

“You have that second when it goes by you and you grab hold [of the buggy] and jump on,” Smith said Monday morning, recalling the incident. “I had to be quick.”

When he got into the buggy, Smith pulled the reins, bringing the horse to a stop.

“The horse kicked up and was so exhausted that it collapsed to the ground,” Smith said.

A veterinarian checked out the animal and it was not injured in the incident.