A startled horse being ridden by a teenage boy at the edge of a city park collided with a taxi Sunday, critically injuring the boy and killing the animal, police said.
The 13-year-old boy was thrown to the ground and suffered head injuries and a broken leg, said Julius Stanton, the horse's owner.
The taxi driver was treated at a hospital, authorities said. The cab had no passengers.
The horse leaped into the road, hitting the taxi's roof and breaking the windshield before rolling off the hood to the ground.
Police called it an accident, and no charges were filed. It was unclear what spooked the horse.
The horse was from a stable in New York City's Queens borough run by the Federation of Black Cowboys, a group that introduces inner-city children to horses and teaches them about the black influence in the Old West.