A Michigan man traveling halfway across the country in a mule-pulled buggy was injured Wednesday night when a pickup struck the buggy in Ozark, killing both of the draft animals.
Charles Peters, 68, of Owosso, Mich., was traveling west on U.S. 64 through Ozark in the wooden buggy pulled by two mules when it was hit by a 2000 Ford Ranger driven by Brandi Summers, 18, of Altus, according to police reports.
In an accident report issued by the Ozark Police Department at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Summers said she looked away from the road momentarily just beforestriking the buggy. According to the report, Summers’ vehicle was destroyed, and the undercarriage of Peters’ buggy was severely damaged.
The impact sent both vehicles and the mules into a ditch beside the roadway, the report said. One of the mules was trapped under Summers’ vehicle and died at the scene, the report said. The second mule was taken to the Moon Veterinary Clinic in Ozark. Dr. Terry Moon said that mule died of head trauma Thursday morning. He said the animal appeared to be about 12 years old.
According to the accident report, Peters was taken by ambulance to MercyHospital Turner Memorial in Ozark.
Peters’ daughter, Carol Peters, said Thursday that her father suffered two broken ribs.
She said one of her father’s sons, Charles Cory Peters, was driving Thursday from Tennessee to pick up their father and take him home to Michigan.
For the past several months, the elder Peters has been featured in newspaper and television reports across the country. According to his daughter, Peters left Michigan by mule on May 1 headed to Okemah, Okla., to visit the grave of his father, a World War II veteran who died in 2006.
In earlier reports, Peters said he was making the 1,100-mile journey at the rate of about 20 miles a day, sleeping in his buggy at night in patches of farmland. Carol Peters said her father had expected to arrive in Okemah on Aug. 1.
She said her father plans to recuperate at home in Michigan, then repair his buggy, acquire new mules and resume his journey from Ozark.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 07/26/2013