Runaway Horse and Carriage Has Family Hanging On For Dear Life

A tourist family was holding on for dear life when a horse and carriage ride went out of control through the streets of Savannah. INSIDE EDITION has the story.

Scary video of a runaway horse and carriage on a wild ride through the streets of historic Savannah, Georgia, has surfaced.

The driver lost control and a terrified family of tourists from New York had to hang on for dear life. Every turn the carriage made was caught on surveillance cameras.

The panicked horse galloped at full speed past shocked pedestrians, narrowly missing a distracted woman talking on her cell phone. One guy waved his arms to stop the horse, but it sideswiped a truck and kept right on going.

The driver was ejected from the carriage and suffered a broken foot. Brave bystanders finally pulled the family to safety when the horse slowed down.  

In the carriage was 42-year-old Marcella Hille and her 67-year-old mother in front of Marcella's three children.

The wild ride in Savannah occurred just as debate rages in another city famous for its horse and carriage rides over whether to ban them.

New York City's mayor is supporting calls from animal rights activists to end all carriage rides in picturesque Central Park and replace them with vintage electric cars.

"Save Our Horses" blares the front page of today's New York Daily News, which is launching a petition to stop Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed ban. Actor Liam Neeson is leading the effort to keep the horse and carriage tradition alive.

Neeson said at a press conference, "These horses are well cared for. The mayor wants to replace them with electric cars. That's exactly what New York needs, more cars!"

Incidents involving runaway horses catering to tourists have happened before. One horse had to be tranquilized after dragging a carriage through the streets of Manhattan. Another runaway carriage horse terrified a Central Park tourist in 2011.

The carriage horse who rampaged through the streets of Savannah wasn't hurt. His name is Oscar and he looks fine after giving a family of tourists the fright of their lives.