Witnesses describe horrifying Rodeo Parade accident

Witnesses said the girl was among the last riders in her parade party when paired horses pulling a carriage galloped around the corner at South Park Avenue onto East Irvington Road. "I heard the carriage with the clickity-clack of the horses coming a little bit faster. She was the last on in the line of her parade party," said Jason Weaver, who saw the accident. "They were at a full gallop. Those people who were controlling that carriage were like, 'Whoa! Whoa!' They were really trying to control that carriage," said Adrian Weaver, Jason's wife. The paired horses bumped into the girl's horse, which may have reared up and thrown her off. The carriage appeared to roll over the girl, Jason Weaver said. He ran into the road and tried to comfort the girl. Her mother also ran to her side. "I ran out there and just said 'Your mom is here.' I yelled out 'Call 911!' She was lying down," Adrian Weaver said. Meanwhile, carriage drivers tried to get the horses under control. At one point, the horses jerked toward the crowd along the north side of the street. Maria Garcia said she feared the horses would run into her 2-year-old daughter, standing along the curb. "I just grabbed her and I moved back," Garcia said. Marybeth Linn said she closed her eyes after seeing the horse rear up and throw the girl off. She said the crowd gasped, then went silent.