Two traffic crashes the last two days are reminders to be watchful for animals on or near our roadways as you travel. Both incidents reported no injury to people but involved horses were seriously injured or killed. On March 13, 2014 at approximately 3:15 a.m., a 2006 Dodge pickup driven by a 43-year old Grants Pass man was eastbound on Highway 58 near milepost 2 when the driver encountered several horses standing in the eastbound lane. The driver was unable to avoid the horses, colliding into at least two of them before the pickup came to rest on the side of the road. Two of the horses were lying in the eastbound lanes when struck by a Peterbilt log truck driven by a 38-year old Eugene man. Neither driver was injured but both vehicles sustained heavy damage. The horses’ owner was notified and responded to the scene. The highway was restricted to a single lane for over an hour before the horses and vehicles could be removed. ODOT and Lane County Sheriff’s Office assisted OSP at the scene. On March 12, 2014 at approximately 7:06 a.m., a 2014 Chevrolet sport utility vehicle driven by a 40-year old Phoenix man was southbound on Highway 199 north of Kerby near Reeves Creek Road when the driver came upon several horses standing in the roadway. The vehicle collided with at least two horses and the driver was not injured. One of the horses received serious injury and the others returned to a nearby field. The owner was notified and responded to the scene to handle the seriously injured horse.
