A man has died following a collision between his vehicle and a horse that escaped from a trailer in Norco, California. The horse was also killed in the incident.
On Sunday, September 22, at approximately 2:05 a.m. local time, firefighters responded to reports of a “solo vehicle traffic collision involving a horse” in the northbound lanes of Interstate 15.
This information was shared in a Facebook post by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the Riverside County Fire Department.
“Upon arrival, firefighters declared one victim and horse perished at the scene, and the other patient (the driver) was transported by ground ambulance with minor injuries,” the post detailed.
According to a report from The San Bernardino Sun, California Highway Patrol spokesman Javier Navarro confirmed that the victim was a 25-year-old man seated in the front of a gray Honda Accord when a horse unexpectedly crashed through the car’s windshield.
The Horse Reportedly Escaped Its Trailer After It Collided with a Guardrail
The horse reportedly broke free after the vehicle towing its trailer collided with a guardrail. It escaped from the trailer and reached the median before attempting to cross the freeway.
According to reports, a black Honda Accord then struck the animal. The horse subsequently crashed through the windshield of the victims’ car.
The trailer crash reportedly triggered a chain reaction of accidents on the highway. This includes one involving a semitractor-trailer colliding with the damaged, empty horse carrier.
Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Maggie Cline De La Rosa weighed in on the tragic incident. She confirmed that one person in the car was pronounced dead at the scene. Meanwhile, another individual was hospitalized with minor injuries.
“The horse was also a fatality, unfortunately,” Cline De La Rosa told the Los Angeles Times.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the individual hospitalized with “minor injuries” was a 27-year-old male driver of a Honda Accord.
Cline De La Rosa informed the outlet that no arrests have been made. However, the cause of the car towing the horse trailer veering off the road is still under investigation.