By Gus Saltonstall
An 18-year-old male is in critical condition after a horse carriage tipped over in Central Park on Wednesday around 2:50 p.m., a police spokesperson told West Side Rag.
The teenager was rushed to Weill-Cornell Medical Center, police added.
According to video and eyewitnesses, the carriage tipped over after a horse broke away from its driver and bolted into the park. A West Side Rag reporter who happened to be in Central Park at the time on Wednesday afternoon said she saw the horse go running by her with screaming passengers in the back.
Based on eyewitness reports and video, the horse broke away from its driver near Cherry Hill Fountain within the park near West 72nd Street, which is a common area for the carriages, before making its way onto West Drive.
Video then shows the runway horse and carriage falling to the ground on West Drive near Tavern on the Green around West 67th Street, after colliding with another carriage.
Yes we got a video of it here pic.twitter.com/35hY4K3s5O
— @newyorkers (@newyorkers_x) June 17, 2026
The incident on Wednesday comes a little more than a week after a carriage horse named Deniz collapsed and died in Central Park, after eating a toxic plant.
This is a developing story, please check back in for updates.
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How long are we going to allow this industry to put people and horses at risk? This is to say nothing of the horse dung stinking up the park.
It’s time to end this practice and replace the horses with electric buggies. We’re not trying to put people out of business but horses in the park, street, what have you is inappropriate in 2026.
This is all very 1840s. I hope the kid who got hurt is OK. Maybe put down the camera and help.
WABC just said that the driver got out of the carriage to take photos of the passengers. Oy.