Monday evening traffic jam in Roxborough caused by loose horses
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Commuters experienced an unusual delay on Henry Avenue Monday evening when a group of horses broke free from Saul High School's farm in Roxborough and ventured onto the street.
Joshua Duke, who lives in Manayunk, was on his way home from work in Conshohocken when his SEPTA bus began to slow down unexpectedly.
"The bus started slowing down – I guess it was losing 'horsepower,'" Duke said.
As the bus came to a halt, passengers noticed several horses trotting freely on the road.
"I had no idea what was going on and a lady was saying, 'There's a bunch of horses in the street!'" Duke said. He quickly pulled out his phone to capture the unusual scene, which he posted to Facebook. He said the mood on the bus was a mix of amusement and concern for the horses' safety.
"One horse ran straight by the bus out of nowhere," he said. "I was nervous about other drivers beeping their horns and trying to speed up."
Jane Arbasak, the farm administrator at Saul High School, explained that nine horses had escaped after one of them inadvertently knocked open the gate while reaching for a salt lick. She said shortly after they got out, around 7 p.m., people from the farm, school and neighborhood all pitched in to help corral them. She said it was relatively easy to bring them back once they were bridled.
"They're like teenagers! They ran around thinking this is great, and then all of a sudden they said 'Oh my God I want to go home,'" Arbasak said.
With many helping hands, the horses were safely corralled back to the farm. "They're all quarter horses, so they have big butts," Arbasak said. "And somebody moved back and hit the gate at the right point, at the right place and the hinges just moved."
The incident caused quite a stir on social media after Duke posted his video with the caption, "Bunch of horses horsing around on Henry Avenue." The video quickly gained traction, with many people expressing both concern for the horses and amusement at the unusual traffic jam.
"People on the bus were mostly laughing and shocked, but there was genuine concern for the horses' safety," Duke said. "We're just glad that the horses are safe and that they're back on the farm."
At the end of his video, Duke humorously summed up the moment by saying, "They're just horsing around!" to the delight of his fellow bus riders, who broke into laughter.
Arbasak said farm staff have since tightened the gate's hinges to prevent another escape.