POLKTON TWP., MI (WHTC) – A pre-dawn crash in the Coopersville area involving two vehicles and a horse on Tuesday morning hospitalized the drivers involved and resulted in the death of the horse.
According to Ottawa County Sheriff’s Sergeant Steve Austin, 39-year-old Rachel Wieten of Ravenna had stopped her southbound car on 80th Avenue near Cleveland Street around 7:15 AM after seeing a horse that had wandered away from its stable overnight in the roadway. She put her four-way hazard flashers on and called 9-1-1 to report the animal to Central Dispatch. While waiting for first responders to arrive, a northbound car, driven by 27-year-old Laura Grove, also of Ravenna, didn’t see the horse, struck it at full speed and veered into Wieten’s vehicle.
The horse died upon impact, while rescue crews extricated the buckled up Grove, who was flown to Spectrum-Butterworth Hospital in critical condition. Wieten, who was also wearing her seat belt at the time, suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Hackley Hospital for treatment.
The crash remains under investigation.
