The mother of a young rider who was hit by a lorry in a “horrendous” hacking incident said the teenager and her horse were “millimetres from going under the tyres”.
Zoe Jarosiewicz’s 15-year-old daughter Grace Crofts was riding her four-year-old mare Bella in Barnsley, Yorkshire, on 2 October when the lorry passed them without braking.
The vehicle hit both Bella and Grace, as the spooked mare tried to spin away from it, but the driver made no attempt to stop or slow down.
Zoe, who has since been sent dashcam and CCTV footage of the incident, told H&H: “It was horrendous. Bad enough for me, but my daughter – she was crying in pain.”
The videos show some cars passing Grace, Bella and another horse and rider safely. As the lorry approaches, Bella spooks, her quarters going right, and the side of the vehicle hits horse and rider with an audible bang.
“The lorry hit Grace’s leg,” Zoe said. “She’s got muscle pain and it hit her arm too, and she’s in shock, not sleeping at all. Bella has no swelling but a very hot left foreleg from top to bottom; it spun her brushing boot round. She’s very jumpy and spooky; jumping whenever people walk past her stable. Will she be ok, will Grace get back on? I don’t know.”
Zoe described the mare, whom Grace has had since January, as “an absolute saint”, but that the driver of the lorry made no attempt to slow down.
She has shared the videos on social media in an attempt to bring the driver to justice.
Asked what she would say to him if she had the chance, Zoe said: “I could have been organising my daughter’s funeral this week.
“The major issue is that he didn’t slow down and didn’t stop. He didn’t know if my daughter had collapsed or the horse was ok – the wagon hit the horse’s head. The bang was horrendous; he must have been aware but he just carried on driving. They were millimetres from going under the tyres.”
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police told H&H: “We received a call at 7:08pm on 2 October for reports of a horse being spooked by an HGV driver on Windhill Lane in Staincross.
“The caller reporter that the driver’s inappropriate driving manner while passing the horse caused the horse to spook. The rider, a 15 year-old girl, suffered minor injuries to her leg.
“Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to provide information via the SYP website and reporting portal quoting incident number 669 of 2 October, or call 101.”
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