Woman hospitalized in horse-drawn carriage accident

(FOX19) - The driver of a horse carriage is still in the hospital after an accident nearly threw her off the Taylor Southgate Bridge on Thursday.

It was a dramatic situation, especially for 911 callers and first responders who witnessed it unfold.

"I observed a female that was on the side of the bridge on top of the barrier to the bridge basically being held up by the support beam of the bridge," Newport Police officer Keith Pfefferman FOX19. He was the first officer to arrive on the scene.

The carriage driver, Tina Hemingway, was operating the carriage northbound on the bridge around 5 p.m. when a car struck it from behind. The impact rolled the carriage onto its side and launched Hemingway to the ledge of the bridge.

"This was a very tense situation for a while, especially with the person literally over the edge of the bridge," said Chief of Police Tom Collins.

Pfefferman and a citizen pulled the Hemingway to safety. She was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center with multiple bone fractures, according to officials.

Hemingway underwent surgery on Friday and it's unclear how long she'll be in the hospital, but her family describes her as a tough lady and they're confident she'll make a full recovery.

The horse pulling the carriage was not injured in the accident.

Charges are reportedly pending against the driver of the car.

The FOX19 Investigates team found this isn't the first carriage accident in Cincinnati.

Public records show two accidents occurred on December 10, 2011 when the horse and carriage got loose without a driver.  There was a horse on Vine Street and one on Walnut roaming downtown Cincinnati and blocking intersections, documents show.

In September 2010, a horse carriage side-swiped a car and fled the scene. Records indicate at least five accidents involving horse-drawn carriages have happened in Cincinnati since 2009.

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