Car strikes horse on Willoughby Lake Road, animal euthanized

A car struck a horse on Willoughby Lake Road in Brownington late Friday night, according to Vermont State Police.

The collision occurred June 5 at 9:51 p.m. on Willoughby Lake Road south of Pepin Road. Dean Burns, 66, of Woodbury, was driving a 2013 Chevrolet Impala south when his vehicle hit one of several horses that were standing on or near the roadway, police said.

Neither Burns nor a passenger were injured. The Impala sustained major damage to the hood, windshield, and roof and was towed from the scene by Ray's Towing.

The horse suffered fatal injuries and was euthanized at the scene, police said. The animals' owners arrived and told responders the horses had broken out of a containment fence. The remaining horses were gathered and returned to the property.

Orleans Ambulance and Orleans Fire Department also responded.

Photo: Tomás Del Coro from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0). Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.