A California man was killed early Saturday morning when he crashed into a horse on Interstate 10 in Jennings, Louisiana.
• A horse that was not secured ended up in traffic on Interstate 10 in Louisiana and was struck by a Pasadena man in a Mazda sedan.
• The man and the horse both died in the crash.
• The horse’s owner, who had been warned several times to keep his horse secure on his property, was arrested for negligent homicide.
The interstate crash occurred at about 12:23 a.m., according to a KLFY News report.
State police said 41-year-old Joseph Gaushell of Pasadena was driving a 2001 Mazda 626 weston I-10 in the far right lane when he struck a horse that was walking in his lane on the highway.
On impact, the horse rolled over the hood of the Mazda and crashed into the windshield. The horse died. Gaushell was rushed to a local hospital with catastrophic injuries. He died at the hospital.
Investigators did not state that alcohol was suspected to be a factor in the accident, but as a matter of standard procedure, toxicology samples were taken and sent to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab.
Police determined that the horse belonged to 52-year-old Nathaniel Lyons of nearby Welsh, Lousiana, according to a KATC News report. Investigators found evidence that the horse had not been properly secured in Lyons’ yard. Lyons had been warned by law enforcement agencies on several prior occasions to ensure that the horse was properly secured so it could not get onto the highway.
Lyons was arrested for negligent homicide for the death that resulted from his alleged failure to secure the horse. He was booked into Jeff Davis Jail.
The accident is still under investigation.
Horses on highways is a very dangerous situation, stresses University of Texas law professor Robert Dawson.
“The panicked horse on the highway right-of-way is not quietly grazing by the side of the road; he is excited by the sights and sounds of high-speed vehicular traffic,” Dawson explained. “Such a horse, panic enhanced by highway traffic, is likely to make sudden and erratic movements, including darting out into traffic lanes in the face of oncoming cars and trucks.”
When a horse collides with a fast-moving vehicle the consequences are likely to be deadly — to the horse and the occupants of the vehicle, Dawson noted.
“Motorists are attuned to many highway hazards,” Dawson said, “but stray horses are not among them.”
The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing families in wrongful death cases for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.
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