Dec. 29--A horse trailer rolled down a steep embankment of Interstate 78 in Greenwich Township after it broke free of the pickup truck towing it, killing one of the horses, state police said Friday.
One of the two horses in the trailer died of its injuries shortly after the accident Thursday about 3 p.m., Trooper Michael Koslosky of the Hamburg station said.
Several motorists stopped to help the owner and the trooper in freeing the animals from the trailer, which ended up on its side with the roof partially torn open, Koslosky said.
The horse that survived sustained some injuries but was able to climb the embankment to a waiting trailer provided by a local farmer, Koslosky said.
"I didn't know how we were going to get that horse out of there because it was a very steep embankment, but they did," he said. "It was pretty impressive."
Koslosky said the pin holding the ball-hitch failed, causing the trailer to break free of the westbound truck driven by Patricia A. Kenefic, 56, of Redding, Conn.
The trailer traveled across both lanes, then smashed through the guide rail before sliding down the embankment.
Dr. Amy Worell, a veterinarian from Willow Creek Animal Hospital, Ontelaunee Township, arrived shortly after the horse died.
Copyright 2012 - Reading Eagle, Pa.
