Man dies after horse-drawn carriage is struck by vehicle

WAYNESBORO, Tenn. - A local man died Sunday at a Nashville hospital after the horse-drawn carriage he was riding in was struck by a car.

Waynesboro Police Chief Keith Reeves said 39-year-old David Gobbell, of Pine Ridge Road, Waynesboro, died at Vanderbilt Hospital. Gobbell was injured in the accident that happened after 3 p.m. Sunday on Tennessee 99 (also known as Old U.S. 64).

Reports indicate Gobbell and his 16-year-old daughter, who was riding in the carriage with him, were traveling west on the roadway when they were struck from behind by a car driven by a 17-year-old Waynesboro boy.

Emergency personnel at the scene said Gobbell was thrown from the carriage and was found lying in the middle of the roadway. His daughter, the carriage and the horse were all knocked about 25 feet off the southbound side of the road.

Reeves said Gobbell’s daughter was not injured other than “bumps and bruises.” The horse was killed from the impact.

Gobbell was taken to Wayne Medical Center in Waynesboro and then flown to Vanderbilt Hospital.

The fatality is the first in the city in more than six years.