Featured Image Credit: Palmetto Carriage Works & Palmetto Tours Facebook
On Wednesday, city prosecutors dropped two charges against the woman who was accused of scaring two Charleston carriage horses while wearing a dinosaur costume.
In May, witnesses alleged that Nicole Wells, in a Tyrannosaurus rex costume, approached a Palmetto Carriage Works carriage with 16 passengers on board. Even after warnings by Van Sturgeon, who was operating the carriage, that she was upsetting the horses, Wells refused to move.
The carriage jackknifed and Sturgeon was thrown to the ground. One of the wheels on the carriage rolled over his right leg, breaking his foot. The other passengers were not injured. The horses, Yogi and Boo Boo, were also unharmed, though they were spooked
It’s unfortunate that the City of Charleston does not take harassment of Charleston carriage horses working downtown seriously. Health and safety are paramount to the carriage companies and Charleston has let the horses down. This decision paves the way for more incidents like this to happen.