Horse-drawn carriage accident on the Plaza injures three

Nick Mongold and Denise Kelly were on a date Saturday night on the Country Club Plaza and wanted to celebrate the occasion with a ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

The couple had reserved their spot before dinner, but when they returned to Pennsylvania Avenue and Nichols Road about 9:15 p.m. for the ride, they found out their plan had been scrapped.

Kansas City Carriages canceled rides after a carriage got loose about 8 p.m. near Ward Parkway and Broadway. The horse, its driver and two other people were injured.

One person was ejected from the carriage, and two others were hospitalized. None of the injuries was life-threatening.

Employees of Kansas City Carriages declined to comment as they issued refunds to customers.

Mongold and Kelly said they had no idea what occurred a few blocks away.

“I’m a little disappointed, but it happens,” Kelly said.

Mongold said he understood the company’s decision.

“Bad timing,” he said.

A witness, Heather Ost, said the horse ran the carriage into a wall.

“It was going as fast as it could,” Ost said.

Ost added that the driver of the carriage was ejected over the wall, down the hill and onto a sidewalk along Brush Creek.

“It was a loud bang,” she said.

This story was originally published December 3, 2016 at 11:45 PM with the headline "Horse-drawn carriage accident on the Plaza injures three."