Penngrove woman heartbroken by loss of pet horses in apparent hit-and-run crash

A Penngrove woman who was awakened by a loud vehicle crash near her home in rural Penngrove early Saturday morning soon discovered that a hit-and-run driver had smashed through a small corral, fatally injuring her two miniature horses.

Juanita Carrillo said whoever it was must have been traveling at high speed to have caused so much destruction, leaving her heartbroken by the loss of two faithful pets, Scout and Big Red, the smaller of the two.

“I can’t believe this even happened,” Carrillo, 59, said through tears later Saturday from her home on Minnesota Avenue, which runs diagonally between Penngrove Avenue and Old Redwood Highway North. “They were so sweet. It’s just so senseless.”

Her landlord, Petaluma resident Joe Jensen, said he was incensed by the recklessness and would pay a reward for information leading to an arrest.

Carrillo, who runs a mobile pet grooming business, “is so kindhearted to animals,” Jensen said. “It’s killing her. It’s just killing her.’

The crash occurred just after 2 a.m. and left significant wreckage. The horses were euthanized.

Carrillo thinks the culprit likely was drunk, given the hour and the proximity of three bars, though CHP Sgt. ?Andrew Henkins said, at this point, there’s no way to know.

Given the hour and the driver’s decision to leave the scene, intoxication could be a factor, investigating officer Boone Bathe said.

Bathe said it appears the driver was northbound on Minnesota Avenue, which runs straight and then curves right at Carrillo’s house.

Jensen said drivers frequently take out the mailboxes and fences on the property, which is where he grew up.

Carrillo also recalled a time perhaps eight or nine years ago when a drunken driver plowed through an earlier, larger corral, though in that case, the two quarter horses she had at the time were uninjured.

Later, she acquired the miniature horses, one red, and one black and white. They were, she said “real buddies. You couldn’t separate them.”

But recently, Big Red had been sick, so she had Jensen build a divider fence to make sure he could get enough food and get his strength back.

On Saturday, she heard the noise of an obvious crash and called 911, then waited for authorities to arrive before going outside.

She was unaware her pets had been hurt until one of the officers shined a light on Big Red, who lay crumpled on the ground, his leg mangled, ?Carrillo said.

He had been struck hard enough to be thrown outside the corral after the driver had smashed through three sturdy wooden fences, leaving splintered wood and broken car parts behind, Carrillo said.

She said she didn’t realize Scout also was badly injured. He was still standing, though on three legs.

An on-call vet came to euthanize them both, but it was agony waiting, she said, knowing that her horses were suffering.

Bathe said serial numbers on car parts recovered from the scene indicate the vehicle involved was either a Honda Accord or Honda CRV from the early 2000s.

“It should have significant front-end damage,” Bathe said.

Carrillo said she’s hoping someone will notice a damaged car and call it in to the CHP.

“I would really like to get the person that did this because, honestly, if the guy was that drunk he could have killed anybody out here on the highway,” she said. “He had to have been hammered.”

Anyone with information about the crash can call the CHP dispatch center 707-551-4100 during weekends and overnight, or 707-588-1400 during regular business hours.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.