LITTLETON, Maine — A Littleton woman was injured and a horse was killed Saturday morning on U.S. Route 1 in Littleton.
Dawn Theriault was driving north in a 2002 Lincoln sedan when she crashed into the horse, which apparently escaped from its fenced area and was standing in the middle of the road, according to a news release issued Saturday morning by the Maine State Police.
The horse’s owner, Jessica York of Houlton, told police she wasn’t sure how the animal had escaped.
Theriault, who suffered from glass in her eyes and cuts to her face, was taken to Houlton Regional Hospital by Houlton Ambulance. York moved the horse from the road with a tractor. The car was taken away by York’s of Houlton Towing, according to police.
It’s not the first time York’s horses have escaped, according to BDN archives. Last February, a herd of 25 ponies broke loose from their pasture on Route 1 on the Houlton-Littleton town line and took to the open road. York said then that the escape was out of character for her ponies, which she uses in youth programs on her Dowery Farm for area school children. At that time, no horses were hurt or killed, though some Route 1 drivers said they were surprised to see the mini-stampede come toward them.
The crash is being investigated by Trooper Eric Sucy, who was assisted at the scene by Corporal Dennis Quint and Trooper Recruit Matthew Curtin.
