Rider charged with DUI after runaway horse tramples boy at California parade

COLUSA, California -- A day of fun at a parade ended with a scare for one family after a horse got loose and injured a child.

Now the man who was supposed to be controlling the animal is facing charges because police say he was impaired.

Armando Martinez Ruiz has been charged with DUI after the horse trampled the 8-year-old boy at the county fair parade in Colusa, KOVR-TV reports.

Beth Lohman, who was at the parade and witnessed what happened, said everything was calm before chaos erupted.

The main attraction towards the end of the parade features mariachi music and dancing horses, including the one that was in Martinez Ruiz's care.

Dozens of horses were dancing down the street when one horse became spooked, Lohman said.

"He actually tried really hard, you can see, to hold on to the horse," Lohman said.

The horse crashed through a crowd, trampled the boy and then ran back across the parade route.

Witnesses said it took several people to finally catch the horse.

"They're animals and they're going to react, so you as a bystander always need to be ready," Lohman said.

Ruiz has bonded out of jail. The boy who was injured underwent surgery and is said to be okay.