Horse rider hurt in Dudley accident urges driver of lorry to come forward
A horse-rider who was rushed to hospital after being involved in an accident with a lorry today urged the driver to come forward and speak to police.
Claire Macmanomy suffered serious injuries in the collision two months ago and has been off work since.
The 41-year-old is still forced to wear a back brace for 16 hours a day after fracturing three vertebrae and suffering extensive bruising.
She has to have carers to help her get up and dressed, she is unable to drive and fears she may have to sell her own horse if she unable to regain enough fitness following the accident on February 7.
She had been out riding her friend's horse Red to a nearby stables in Gospel End, Sedgley, when the lorry approached behind.
It approached on the Sedgley bound side of Gospel End Road on a steep section bordered by a stone wall at around 3pm.
Miss Macmanomy, who lives nearby, was on the eight-year-old horse with its owner Kay Hill-Sayne walking to the side of them on the pavement.
They had been planning to ride up the road to Wood Farm which has an indoor arena for training horses. She says Kay saw the lorry coming and used 'slow' hand signals in an attempt to warn the driver.
But as it started overtaking the animal reared up, throwing Miss Macmanomy against the side of lorry. It is believed the lorry's wing mirror hit either Miss Macmanomy or the horse in the accident as both were sent tumbling to the floor.
"It was terrible, the next thing I knew I was on the ground. I heard the horse's hoofs and thought I would be trampled on so somehow I managed to slide to the road to the kerb," said Miss Macmanomy, who works at the Jobcentre in Wolverhampton.
Her friend Kay, 39, added: "I couldn't move I was in that much shock. It was horrendous to see. Red just got up, she was standing there, dripping with blood. Claire was on the floor, I just didn't know what to do. It was horrendous, like a nightmare."
Miss Macmanomy says the driver got out of the cab of the lorry, with a blue freight container on the back, to pick up his broken wing mirror.
She says he failed to leave his details with police as they arrived with paramedics in the aftermath of the accident.
She was forced to lie flat in bed for two weeks and then had a further fortnight in hospital. The horse had suffered several cuts and was lucky not to lose an eye.
Miss Macmanomy
fears not being able to ride her own horse Miles again, adding: "I may have to sell him. They have taken away my hobby."
She added: "I just want the driver to come forward. He could have killed us."
Call Wombourne Police on 101.
