Four horses killed in Lake County crash

The horses were on a Lake County highway Thursday night when two motorists crashed into them, sustaining major damage to their cars.|
JULIE JOHNSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Two motorists driving along a Lake County highway after dark Thursday crashed into and killed four horses in the roadway, CHP officials said.

The vehicles were seriously damaged and the horses died at the scene, Officer Kory Reynolds said. The drivers escaped injury.

The collision was reported at 10:35 p.m. on Highway 20 about 340 feet east of the Cache Creek bridge east of Clearlake Oaks, Reynolds said.

Driver Elijah Calderon, 19, of Grass Valley was heading east in a 1998 Jeep Cherokee, Reynolds said. Westbound driver Richard Lewis, 65, of Cobb was in a 2000 Subaru Outback.

Coming from opposite directions, both vehicles struck the animals in the darkness, sustaining major damage to the windshields, front fenders and hoods, Reynolds said.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the horses had escaped or who owned them. Officers at the scene contacted Jorge Gudino at a nearby ranch that is known to have horses.

A Caltrans crew retrieved the bodies.

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