One horse is dead and another is injured after they were struck by vehicles in Alpine early Wednesday morning.
According to California Highway Patrol, at about 1:15 a.m. emergency dispatchers began receiving calls about several horses running along eastbound Interstate 8 near Willows Road.
The first horse was hit and killed by a rental car that was going eastbound on I-8, just east of Willows Road. The horse caved in the hood, went through the windshield and rolled on top of the car and smashed in the roof. The driver, however, was able to climb out of his car and walk away to get help. He was not seriously hurt.
The second horse was struck and injured by a pickup truck on Alpine Boulevard, west of Willows Road. Staff with the San Diego County Animal Services responded to the scene at 3:30 a.m. They put the horse in a trailer and took it to a shelter in Bonita. The horse was stitched up and is expected to be OK. It did not suffer any broken legs.
The pickup’s driver was not seriously injured.
CHP is trying to determine where the horses came from.