The passenger who died when the car he was riding in collided with a horse on Sunday in Norco perished when the horse smashed through the windshield, the California Highway Patrol said Monday, Sept. 23.
The victim was a 25-year-old man, said Officer Javier Navarro, a CHP spokesman. The man has not been publicly identified. The horse also perished.
The crash was reported at about 2 a.m. on the northbound 15 Freeway north of the Santa Ana River.
Navarro said a Toyota Tacoma pulling a trailer with the horse in it veered to the right. The Toyota and the trailer struck a guardrail, causing the trailer to split open and sending the horse onto the freeway. The trailer came to rest in the lanes while the horse got to the median.
Next, a semi hit the trailer.
As the horse attempted to cross the freeway to the right, a black Honda Accord clipped the horse.
Next, a gray Honda Accord traveling in the left lane crashed into the horse, causing it to fly through the windshield, Navarro said. The passenger, sitting in the front seat, was killed, and the 27-year-old male driver suffered minor injuries.
No one has been arrested, Navarro said. What caused the Toyota towing the trailer to hit the guardrail is under investigation, he said.
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