It's a good high-school job. And Ranel bounced into work that day with good news: Just a couple hours before, the teen had proudly presented his mother Hope with an envelope from the Montana Department of Justice.

"I didn't believe him, but it was his driver's license," said Hope Ranel.

It would come in handy this night. Because Burckhard wasn't going to let Midnight go into that dark night, and he would need Ranel's help to get the job done.

As soon as Midnight bolted, Burckhard told Ranel to run to his Chevy Trailblazer, parked just outside the restaurant.

Burckhard jumped in the driver's seat and the two sped off, hell-bent on stopping the runaway horse and buggy with the SUV, because "I knew that either the horse was going to get hurt or somebody else would," Burckhard said. "But the main thing is I didn't want her to get on the highway."

So with Ranel in the passenger seat, Burckhard twice tried to stop Midnight's run by blocking her path with his Chevy.

It became clear after the second attempt that Midnight was not going to be deterred. She raced north of town before turning onto Airport Road, a narrow stretch that heads directly into the foothills of the Missions.