ASSATEAGUE ISLAND, MD - Officials confirmed a pony was hit and killed on Assateague Island in Maryland. They say it happened on Bayberry Drive where the speed limit is twenty-five miles per hour.
Gizmo was a sixteen-year-old female whose death left visitors upset. Jennifer Williams is visiting the island with her family and calls the incident unfortunate.
"It's so sad," said Williams. "There's a lot of signage that says twenty-five miles per hour. I think that it's understood that when you come to visit the island, this is a nature preserve. So you should be traveling at a slow speed because there could be animals at any corner."
Hugh Hawthorne, the superintendent of Assateague Island National Seashore tells WBOC the national park has considered taking measures like putting up cameras or creating more speed bumps in the past. Hawthorne says that when making these decisions, they "have to decide if something is cost effective, and if it's in the best interest of the visitors and of the park."
Hawthorne urges caution when driving on the island at night.
"Just because the speed limit is twenty-five miles an hour, does not necessarily mean you have to drive twenty-five miles an hour," said Hawthorne.
Hawthorne would not release any information about the driver. He also would not say whether Gizmo was euthanized or died at the scene.