Man dies after car strikes horse
By J. NOEL ESPINOZA
The Brownsville Herald
July 24, 2004 Brownsville police are investigating an accident that killed a 37-year-old man Friday morning on South Indiana Road near the Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport.
Pelayo Gonzalez Ortiz, the driver of a maroon Chrysler, lost control of his vehicle, struck a horse and drove into a 15-foot deep ditch, according to a police report.
Police arrived at the scene at about 2 a.m. where they found Gonzalez without vital signs.
A neighborhood witness told police a second driver hit the horse and went into the ditch after failing to slow down, the report states.
The physical evidence suggests that the driver in the (first) vehicle struck a standing horse and lost control of the vehicle and went into a ditch, Lt. James Paschall. A second vehicle ran over the horse after the vehicle hit the animal.
Paschall said officers tried to help Gonzalez, but observed that he was not moving or breathing.
Justice of the Peace Tony Torres pronounced Gonzalezs death and ordered an autopsy.
Paschall said the second driver was not seriously injured, but police are still investigating the accident.
Paschall said it was too early to tell Gonzalezs conditions at the time of the accident.
Were in the preliminary stages of the investigation, Paschall said. All we know is that he was alone.
Paschall said police also seized the second vehicle that hit the horse to continue the investigation.
According to the report, the large horse died due to severe injuries on the nose and head, and lacerations on the right rear hindquarter.
Animal control workers removed the horse from the roadway.
nespinoza@link.freedom.com
