Horse takes on rush hour traffic near Glen Carbon

A runaway horse escaped a game of chicken with rush hour interstate traffic Friday morning in Madison County.

The escaped animal was found to be roaming the area near the crossing of Interstate 270 and Illinois 255 in the Glen Carbon area. Illinois State Police spokesman Calvin Dye Jr. said it stopped traffic completely for a while when it wandered into the westbound lanes of traffic on Interstate 270.

“Fortunately, no one was hurt, including the horse,” Dye said. “Obviously, it was a very dangerous situation.”

The horse was initially spotted at about 6:25 a.m. It took three state troopers about an hour to catch the horse and then contact the owner who lives nearby. Glen Carbon police said they’re familiar with the man who has had problems with his animals escaping before.

The owner, whose name was not released by police, arrived a short time later with a trailer and took the horse home. He was cited for allowing an animal to run loose on a public roadway.

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Horse takes on rush hour traffic near Glen Carbon."