At its most basic level, personal injury law is about holding negligent parties accountable when they cause other people pain. When it comes to car accidents, we tend to think of another driver as the negligent party. However, three Louisiana car crashes were caused not by a negligent driver, but by a negligent animal owner.
A horse was reportedly roaming loose in Beauregard Parish when it was involved in three car accidents, one of which was fatal. A passenger travelling in the first car to hit the horse died in the crash. The driver of that vehicle was also injured. Two other vehicles also hit the horse after it caused the first fatal crash.
Kelly, a 27-year-old woman travelling in a 2003 Toyota Corolla, died at the scene of the accident involving the car and the roaming horse on U.S. Highway 171. The driver of the Corolla suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital in Lake Charles for treatment after the crash. The horse was responsible for the damage to the Corolla, the driver’s injuries and Kelly’s death.
The same horse went on to cause two more auto accidents before it was caught. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the subsequent accidents.
Shortly before the first crash, the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office and State troopers received reports of a horse on the loose. They then received word of the car accidents. During their investigation, they identified the horse’s owner. The Louisiana State Police Department is continuing to investigate the situation.
Source: KPLCTV.com, “stray horse on the roadway leads to fatal accident,” State Police press release, 23 Sept 2010
