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Horses mend after trailer overturns
By Jeff Long, Tara Malone and Andrew L. **** | Tribune staff reporters October 30, 2007 Article tools
As three horses lay dead on a straw-matted barn floor Monday, dozens of survivors hovered in arcs around them, nursing wounds from the horrific crash Saturday that caused a tractor-trailer loaded with 59 Belgian draft horses to overturn in north suburban Wadsworth.
Some had bruised legs, others swollen eyes. A black yearling wore a thick bandage covering an artery that had been cut. A bruise knotted the neck of a dusty brown horse that chewed green hay in the paddock of a private farm where the horses were brought Saturday night to begin recovering.
The three dead horses, which had been euthanized hours earlier, brought the tally of fatalities to 18. Eight were killed, 10 have been euthanized because of their injuries and 41 remain alive, veterinarian Kevin Nelson said.
On Monday, state and federal officials joined the investigation, and Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran announced additional traffic citations against truck driver, James E. Anderson, 34, of McLeod, N.D. In addition to disregarding a red light, Anderson has been cited for failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident and not having a bill of lading, Curran said.
The wreck happened Saturday just before 7 p.m. at U.S. Highway 41 and Wadsworth Road in northeastern Lake County when the northbound tractor-trailer was struck by a pickup truck. Anderson lost control, and his rig overturned.
Curran said Anderson had been hired by the horses' owner to drive them from Millersburg, Ind., about 20 miles southeast of Elkhart, to Verndale, Minn., for auction. The horses arrived with numbered stickers taped to their backs, a means of identification often used at horse auctions.
"We don't have any concrete evidence that they were on their way to slaughter," Curran said.
That could be key to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A spokeswoman said the department has strict regulations about the way horses are transported to slaughter. Otherwise, states make their own rules about humane methods of transport.
Illinois investigators also were concerned about the manner in which the animals were being transported.
"We'll be looking at whether there was any violation of the Humane Care for Animals Act," said Mark Ernst, the Illinois state veterinarian, whose office is part of the state Department of Agriculture. "If there was animal cruelty, when we get done with our investigation we'll provide that information to the Lake County state's attorney."
Curran said aggravated animal cruelty is a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison.
Late Monday afternoon, about two dozen people gathered at the scene of the accident, contributing to a memorial that grew into a small mound of flowers, horse trophies, teddy bears and a bunch of carrots -- one for each of the dead horses.
Several people returned after helping at the accident scene. Sally Walsh, 46, of Bristol, Wis., said she was working at a nearby gas station when the crash occurred.
"We were trying to do whatever we could. We were able to see inside the trailer. Those horses were just stacked like bodies on top of each other. They were crying and kicking. ... It's in front of you, but you don't believe what you're seeing," she said.
Earlier Monday, the surviving 41 horses meandered about the Wadsworth farm of Fred and Vicki Carney.
The Carneys, who live less than 2 miles from the accident scene, volunteered their stable as a shelter. The barn phone has been ringing ever since as friends with stables offer to adopt horses and others ask how they can help, Vicki Carney said. Every serving of hay and every stroll around the open pen seemed to strengthen the horses, observers said. The rest are expected to survive even though most are injured, Vicki Carney said.
"They had a rough deal," she said.
Younger, smaller horses seemed to take the brunt of the collision, said Vickie Wancho of Lindenhurst, who cares for horses at the Carney farm. The horses include geldings and mares and range from 6 months to 6 years old. Despite their injuries, they were in good condition, Wancho said. Their hooves had been smoothed and rounded, their coats shined, their tails trimmed and the hairs along their jawlines cut.
"That means someone thought something of them at one time," Wancho said.
Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Curtis Gregory said the owner had health certificates and vaccination histories for the horses, but the records were not in the truck when it overturned. The owner faxed the records to authorities Monday.
Officials declined to name the owner, whom they identified only as a horse broker from Minnesota. The owner has cooperated with the sheriff's investigation, Curran said.
Gregory said it appeared the owner was aware of the type of trailer in which the horses were carried: a double-decker designed for cattle and pigs.
Nelson, who works at Bristol Vet Service in Kenosha County, Wis., said Monday that he talked to the animals' out-of-state owner. He did not disclose the owner's name, citing the ongoing investigation and confidentiality concerns.
"The guy was very pleasant," Nelson said. "He didn't want any of the horses to suffer. He told me to do what I could."
Wadsworth veterinarian Gary Koehler, who is also working with the animals, said the intense interest in their future, plus the investigation, should ensure that their fate is watched carefully.
"This is not something that's going to be swept under the carpet," he said.
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