More than a dozen horses were killed or euthanized following a Sunday night crash in Missouri.
The crash occurred around 8:15 p.m. on Sunday, October 18, in Franklin County, Missouri.
Police say that a truck hauling a trailer loaded up with 29 horses crashed into the median of the westbound lanes of I-44 at mile marker 251, coming to rest on its side.
The truck driver wasn’t seriously injured.
Of the 29 horses in the trailer, 13 either died at the scene or were euthanized. The surviving horses were transported to the Humane Society’s Longmeadow Ranch.
The group “Missouri Emergency Response Service (MERS) Large Animal Rescue” was on hand to assist with the rescue effort following the crash. “Nine MERS members worked determinedly in the rain, poop and mud in a confined area with 1000lb+ animals that were confused, injured and scared. No major injuries to personnel occurred,” the group said.
According to MERS, the last time a similar incident occurred, all of the horses were saved from slaughter by adoption. MERS was unable to confirm that the horses were headed for slaughter.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
