A routine day at the State Fair of Texas turned chaotic when a police horse, startled by a spilled soda, bolted through a crowd, causing panic.
As the horse’s rider was bucked off, it trampled a teenage boy, Ian Macharia, who had been attending the fair with his family, Law & Crime reports.
According to witnesses, Macharia was knocked unconscious and began convulsing shortly after. Emergency responders rushed him to a nearby hospital, where his condition was stabilized, though the incident triggered his first known seizure.
“It was a moment that changed me, changed my family, changed my life, you know,” the boy’s mother, Esther Macharia said.
“The crowd started screaming. You know, that’s when I turned, I saw the horse run. So my son is on the floor. Everybody now is gathering.”
Macharia reportedly suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Onlookers described the scene as terrifying. “The horse was out of control, and it just happened so fast,” one onlooker said.
The horse eventually returned to the police barn without further incidents.
The family is suing for $1 million.
