A three-year-old boy is dead after a horrific horse racing accident in Canada.
Reports claim that the toddler, named Gunnar Dickison, was hit by the horizontal starting gate being towed by a pickup truck after one of the races got underway at Connell Park Raceway in Woodstock, New Brunswick.
The gate is used to ensure that all of the horses start off at the same point, but its involvement turned out to be fatal during an event last Saturday, as the young boy was struck while it was leading the horses around the track.
A YouTube video, shown below, shows the race starting and the announcer shouting “There they go!” before a loud crashing noise is heard and people start screaming.
The announcer asks, “What just happened?” shortly after, then frantically calls for an ambulance.
“We need an ambulance, call an ambulance please, to the grandstand folks,” he says. “If there’s a doctor on the grounds anywhere to the grandstand please, right away.”
You can view the incident right below but we warn that it is distressing, although it doesn’t show the kid getting hit.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral General stories via Google! Follow Us
Horse Racing Incident Triggers Probe
First responders attended to Gunnar, and he was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he did not survive the ordeal.
“It does appear, based on the initial information from some people that we’ve got, that it is a tragic accident,” Woodstock Police Force Deputy Chief Simon Watts said in a news conference, per CBC.
He added:
“We know nowadays, everyone’s got a cellphone camera, so if we can obviously get clarification on where the incident actually took place and the details of it, and there’s a few questions with regard to closeness of the gate.”
The police would not disclose whether anyone might face charges, but the matter is under investigation.
