Horse trots along I-95 in Philadelphia in surprising video
UPDATE: Horse that escaped Philadelphia stables, ran down I-95 is "safe, healthy and unharmed"
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- This video is for real, and we're not horsing around.
A horse has been rescued after it was seen galloping along the shoulder of I-95 in Philadelphia early Tuesday morning.
In the video filmed from a vehicle, you can hear the horse's hooves galloping on the pavement and see its mane flowing in the wind.
The video was filmed around 4:45 a.m. by Angelo Palmer as he was heading to work. He leaned out of the window of a shuttle bus to capture the horse galloping on the highway.
"He picked up speed and he was doing like 40 miles and hour at that time," Palmer said.
Palmer's colleague, Deborah Rogers, was struck by its beauty.
"He was in full stride," Rogers said. "It was the most majestic thing I've ever seen."
Philadelphia police said they received reports of a horse running on the highway early Tuesday morning.
They say the horse was first on Kelly Drive and then somehow made its way onto I-676 before reaching I-95 north. Rogers and Palmer said they first noticed the horse on I-676 before I-95.
"I just prayed for a minute and said, 'Help this animal if you can,'" Rogers said.
Pennsylvania State Police, who patrol the interstate highways, were trying to rescue the horse.
Chopper 3 later spotted the horse off the highway in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, tied up and with a State Police cruiser nearby.
Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, a nonprofit devoted to horsemanship in the city's Strawberry Mansion section, said the horse escaped from their stable.
A spokesperson says at last check, the stables and stalls were locked.
While they are looking into how this happened, they suspect vandalism may be a possibility and will be adding cameras.
"The horse was smart. It looked like it knew where it was going," said Wayne Bond, who is a supporter of the stable and was there to help rescue the horse off the Allegheny exit in Port Richmond.
"We don't know what happened, so at the end of the day, we got the horse back," Bond said.
The Fletcher Street Outback Riding Club says horses and kids are the most important thing and that's why their organization exists.
They say they offer a safe place for kids all over the city and beyond.
"They learn about the horses, they clean up after the horses, they learn how to ride them, things of that nature," Bond said.
The kids are also thinking about naming the horse "I-95."
The Riding Club said the horse was taken to the vet and is now resting at its stable on Fletcher Street in Strawberry Mansion.
The horse's escapade also inspired this punny tweet from Philadelphia police:
