Horse trailer accident stops traffic on I-205

TOOLS Email this story to a friend Printer-friendly Version

PORTLAND, Ore. - An accident involving a horse trailer stopped traffic at the height of the Friday morning rush hour on busy Interstate 205 northbound.

The accident took place at about 8:30 a.m. near the Sunnybrook overpass.

Police say a horse trailer with three horses inside was being hauled by a motor home when the trailer's tailgate somehow opened.

A horse reportedly exited the trailer while it was still in motion on the freeway.

The animal was then bit by a car that was travelling behind the trailer.

The horse was badly injured and officers responding to the scene reportedly had to put the animal out of its misery.

Another horse suffered minor injuries and a third horse in the trailer was not injured.

The car that hit the horse on the highway was reportedly damaged but still driveable. The driver was not injured.

The incident stopped traffic in all lanes on the busy highway at the height of rush hour, backing traffic up towards Oregon City.

Police are investigating to find out how the horse trailer tailgate opened while the vehicle was in motion.

Horse falls into I-205 traffic after kicking its way out of trailer

CLACKAMAS -- A horse died after falling out of its trailer and onto Interstate 205 Friday morning, police said.

OSP photo

The horse trailer.

The horse kicked the back door of the trailer open and fell into the freeway’s northbound lanes at the Sunnybrook overpass, south of Portland, said Oregon State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings.

Police troopers, sheriff's deputies and Oregon Department of Transportation personnel responded to a report of an injured horse on I-205 and found the animal critically hurt.

“Due the severity of the horse's injuries and obvious suffering, officers stopped traffic and put the horse down,” Hastings said.

The horse, a black Morgan Arab about 10-years-old, was one of three horses being transported from Sisters, Ore. to Washington State for a horse show. The horses were in a Silverlite horse trailer towed by a motorhome driven by Kristine Yozamp, from Bend.

The horse owner was not traveling with them.

Yozamp told investigators she could tell the horses were acting up as she drove northbound and she was attempting to slow down to move to the freeway shoulder when a passing motorist frantically motioned for her to stop. It was then that she discovered the horse had fallen out onto the freeway.

A trailing passenger car was struck on the right side by the horse, Hastings said. Investigators don’t think any other vehicles struck the animal.

“To help calm the two other horses, a veterinarian responded to the scene and sedated both,” he said.

The other two horses were transported in the trailer after a Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputy secured the damaged door with rope.

Traffic got through the area using the left freeway shoulder until all lanes were reopened

The animal was then bit by a car that was travelling behind the trailer.

Someone should have put a muzzle on that car. 

I am not real smart.

But if the horse was properly tied in the trailer how could he fall out?

I know of several people that refuse to tie thier horses. 

I have a slant load.  I always tie their heads.  I attach the tie to the side of the halter.  It lets them put their head down below the chest. But,  keeps them from getting into trouble with each other.  Or like a friend's horse... killed by getting his head hung between the top of the divider and roof. (I extricated the horse from the trailer)

We have this type of door latching system on our trailer and consider it to be the safest type on the market.(just my personal opinion). I would think that if this trailer were properly latched upon loading that it would have took EXTREME pressure to cause it to break free.

Can't tell exactly from the picture but I'm assuming that it has similar catches for the cam to go into that our trailer has and they are very heavily constructed.One thing that is possible in this particular trailer is that it has no rear tack and the horse could have put more pressure directly on the latch mechanism than would be possible if it had a rear tack. It would be interesting to know what part of the latching system failed(cam,clasp,swing arm,swing arm holder etc.).

Might be something that everyone should check on there own trailers, myself included!

                                                Ardly

Looking at the picture of the trailer, I have a hard time believing that the door was kicked open. The horses butt was on the hinge side and the trailer uses cam locks - all of which look to be in good order.

"Looking at the picture of the trailer, I have a hard time believing that the door was kicked open. The horses butt was on the hinge side and the trailer uses cam locks - all of which look to be in good order. "

Not necessarily so. There looks to be no rear tack so that leaves the last horse with more room to move around in the last stall. If the horses were "acting up" as the driver said, then this horse could have swung his body around and with enough pressure may have caused the door to open. Nobody mentions the fact that maybe the driver never latched the back door properly. Even though, the latch looks like a no brainer to close, you never know, some people are in a daze in the morning hours. Even if the horse had been tied, once the back door opened and he fell out, his tie would have broke.

Unfortuneate accident.

I would have a difficult time believing that a horse kicked a properly latched cam lock open.

It's likely that we'll never know the full story.

How very sad for all those involved. Good thoughts to all.

Oh and as far as tying and not tying. There are some I tie, some I don't. If this horse had been tied, he would have been dragged to death if the lead didn't break. Either way, a very tragic and sad incident.

I have a ramp is inside the rear doors, so if they opened up due to improper closure, the ramp and butt bar is still blocking the last horse from exiting the trailer.

So sad to hear about these accidents, but if it saves other horses due to people rechecking their latches, than some good can come of it.

Obviously a butt bar for a full width rear door would be over 6' long, closer to 7'.  This is a lethal weapon which could seriously damage a human.  Unpin one end and have an anxious horse hit the bar.  It could send someone into orbit.  Even shorter butt bars will not always deter a panicing or determined horse.  We repair butt bars on a regular basis, and the customer usually says something like "he's 15.2 and I don't see how he got under that butt bar".  Sometimes the bar is still pinned and is in an upside down "U" shape.  We had an aluminum bar like that just last week.  Once they crouch down (as when pulling back or backing up fast) and get their tail head a little under the bar, that powerful butt just keeps on coming.  Scrapes and a sore back are the norm, but one animal severely damaged his withers.  The longer the bar, the easier it is to bend.

I should have added that chains and nylon straps can do a lot of damage too. 

Don't you think that human error likely had something to do with the situation?  It is possible to catch just one end of a camlock latch and still think the door is latched.

It makes sense that if the rear door bowed out, the cam would pull away from the latch enough to let it swing open, even with the cam locked properly. 

If a horse were leaning on that door for over 3 hours (~time from bend to portland) could have put a substantial amount of 'warp' in the rear door.  Esentially pulling the cam loose, not breaking it.  

That full door would bend easier than a 1/2 door.   Tragic accident.   Sounds like the horse just wanted out.  Wonder what would have happened with that horse in the first stall?  If he could get a cam locked rear door open maybe he could have gotten a divider to warp, open, then she would have had a whole other mess on her hands.  It would be interesting to know the horses 'trailering' background.   Maybe there was something in the trailer that caused the horse to get so ajatated.

Guess this goes to show that if a 1100# animal wants something bad enough and has the time to do so, he will.

Definitly makes you think.

The new trailer I have has the double doors,each with its own locking device and a ramp on the outside that covers both doors.

I usually only carry 1 less than the trailer is set up for.That way if something does happen I hope there will be time and space to prevent any situations like this.

Since one other horse was slightly injured in this I wonder if the horse may have fell down or god knows what.At any rate it pays to have good horses and safe trailers.

Gives you something else to consider when making a trailer purchase.

Here's another good lesson to learn from this... when you're dealing with trailers, and livestock in particular, it's not the best time to have the stereo blaring away, or to have the kids all carryin' on and out of controll, or to be hollerin' at the wife about last months electric bill, or etc. etc. etc.    You realy need to be able to HEAR and feel what's going on in that wagon, and for heavens sake if you think there MAY be a problem, find the nearest SAFE place to pull over and check things out!  Ya know what they say... better safe than sorry!

  I'm NOT implying that was the case in this incident, I'm merely bringing up the subject as this is as good a time as any to discuss prevention, BUT I have a hard time believing that if the horse was kicking the trailer door hard enough to break something or alot of somethings, that you wouldn't have been able to hear that up there in the drivers seat of the R.V.!!   Maybee some of the younger or newer trailerers (is that a word?) will take this to heart.  Trailering and livestock are two very serious things ALONE, put them together and it's a whole new ball game.  Take things as serious as they are, the time to have fun and cut-up is AFTER you've reached your destination, not while getting there.  I know, I know, I'm a "fuddy-duddy" right!?!  I MUST be if I just used that word!!! LOL

  Talk to y'all later...

a man in our county was hauling 4 calves for someone and didn't get the door shut correctly on his stock trailer. He was going down the parkway, the door came open and all four rolled out onto the highway. He didn't even notice until someone told him at the toll gate. It took days to find those calves. They were running all over the county.