| Advertisement |
|
|
A vehicle-horse collision in the Mat-Su Valley near Wasilla Tuesday morning left a driver injured and the horse dead, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Troopers responded shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday to the intersection of Hollywood Road and South Edelweiss Drive, where a 1985 BMW sedan driven by 57-year-old Wasilla resident Kirby Hull had been headed west on Hollywood. Hull said the horse ran into the road directly ahead of him, and he had no time to take evasive action.
The horse died in the collision, while Hull -- who was wearing his seat belt -- sustained minor injuries. His vehicle was driven away from the scene.
AST spokesperson Megan Peters says the horse was being boarded at a nearby property, and was one of five that escaped through a break in a fence caused by a passing moose.
According to Mat-Su Borough Animal Control officer Matt Hardwig, the body of the horse in the collision was returned to the owner, as were the other four escaped horses which were found over the next four hours.
Hardwig says reports of loose horses are not uncommon in the borough, but vehicle-horse collisions only happen about once a year.