THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 21, 1996 TAG: 9603210373
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BUXTON LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
A pizza delivery man narrowly escaped serious injury Tuesday night when the truck he was driving struck a runaway horse on a stretch of Route 12.
William Troy Bigley, 27, told state troopers he never saw the animal that ran into the path of his 1993 Toyota pickup truck at about 6:45 p.m. When it was hit, the horse slid over the hood and ripped the roof off the small truck.
Bigley suffered cuts to his head. He was taken to Buxton Medical Center, where he was treated and released.
``It was dark, and he didn't know what he had hit,'' trooper Dana Harris said. ``He's lucky it didn't take his head off.''
The horse was killed in the collision.
Harris said Bigley had recently moved to Hatteras Island from Quinton, Va.
The horse, owned by Dan Wensell of New Market, Va., was being boarded at Buxton Stables.
``Mr. Wensell said he was grooming the horse when a sudden gust of wind came up,'' Harris said. ``The wind scared the horse, and it broke loose and ran right into the path of the truck.''
Traffic was slowed for about an hour following the accident, and both lanes of Route 12 were closed for about 10 minutes. A front end loader was used to remove the horse's body from the road.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC HORSE by CNB