Trooper on horseback breaks leg in collision outside Eagles game, suspected drunk driver arrested
The incident happened about an hour after kickoff
A Pennsylvania state trooper is recovering from a broken leg after a suspected drunk driver knocked the officer off a horse near Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
The trooper was one of six mounted patrol officers called to disperse a large crowd near Live! Casino & Hotel in South Philadelphia around 4 p.m., not long after kickoff in the NFC championship game between the Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
As the mounted unit traveled on Darien Street near Pattison Avenue, a white pickup truck sideswiped one of the troopers, knocking the officer off horseback, according to a state police spokesperson.
“The trooper fell from his mount because of the collision and sustained a broken leg,” the spokesperson said. The horse was not injured.
Members of the mounted patrol unit stopped the suspected driver just south of the crash location.
A trooper in a patrol car conducted field sobriety tests on the suspect, who “displayed indicators of impairment,” according to the spokesperson. The suspect was arrested on “suspicion of DUI and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle while DUI.”
It wasn’t the only police injury that day.
There were at least four reports of assaults on police officers Sunday as celebrations erupted citywide after the Eagles victory over Washington that cemented their trip to the Super Bowl.