Terror on the Fourth of July as runaway horses trample woman to death and injure 23 others at small town parade

Chaos: The moment the horses lost control and headed for the crowds

Trampled: Crowds attend to an injured child after two runaway horses bolted at a 4th of July parade in Bellevue, Iowa

Two runaway horses pulling a wagon trampled spectators at a small-town 4th of July parade, killing a 60-year-old woman and injuring at least 23 other people.

The animals bolted after one rubbed its head against the other, removing that horse's bridle, U.S. police said.

They galloped for several blocks with the wagon in tow, trampling parade-goers.
‘They took off down the street uncontrollably,’ Bellevue fire chief Chris Roling told The New York Times.


People gather on the streets in downtown Bellevue, Iowa, after the disaster yesterday

A damaged carriage is moved after the horse that was pulling it bolted into spectators

Injured: A child is carried away on a stretcher after the incident in which one woman died and 23 spectators were hurt

‘They went about six blocks - the horses and the carriages behind them, running over children and adults along the parade route.’

The wagon flipped and its two passengers were flung to the ground. Among those injured were children who had stooped in the street to pick up candy that had been thrown to them.
Police have not released the victim’s identify but said she died of her injuries at the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City after the incident in Bellevue on the Iowa-Illinois border.

Four people were hospitalised in a critical condition, five others were seriously hurt and 14 others sustained minor injuries, police said.

Sandie Crilly was helping her eight-year-old son, 12-year-old niece and two-year-old granddaughter pick up Tootsie Rolls from the ground when the horses trampled on her.
She said she looked up after people started screaming and saw the two panicked animals dragging a carriage charging toward them.

Mrs Crilly's niece broke her wrist and lost her two front teeth in the incident.

The horses galloped for several blocks through the town of about 2,300 residents along the bank of the Mississippi River.

An estimated 10,000 people were attending the parade, which is a decade-old tradition.