Escaped Horses Hit by Vehicles in Alpine

Two horses that had escaped their Alpine-area pens were hit by separate vehicles early Wednesday morning, San Diego County Animal Services says.

Just before 3 a.m., one horse was killed instantly after car struck it going 65 mph on Interstate 8. A pickup truck, driving 35 mph, hit the second animal on Willow Road, injuring him.

While both vehicles were badly damaged, both drivers walked away from the crashes.

California Highway Patrol officers took the surviving horse on a trailer to the county shelter in Bonita. There, the bay gelding was treated for a serious injury to his rear leg and other cuts.

When the owner saw the story on the news, she recognized her horse. She found he was missing when she visited the ranch where she boards him.

“The gate containing the horses is normally clicked shut, but when she arrived, she said the main gate to the boarding facility was open and four horses had been let out of their pens,” said County Animal Services Deputy Director Dan DeSousa.

Two other horses stayed put in the pens. The owner picked him up Wednesday afternoon.

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