Horse survives being struck by minivan

Horse and car collided Friday around 3 p.m. on Highway 20 near Jones Road on North Whidbey.

The driver, Bobbi Ann George, noticed a horse on the right side of the highway and slowed, but the horse sprinted into the road. The Odyssey minivan struck the horse, which shattered the front windshield as it slid across the car. The driver and two children in the car were uninjured.

“A good Samaritan neighbor corralled the horse,” said Deputy Sheriff Scott Fague with the Island County Sheriff’s Office.

The horse had a swollen back leg and assorted cuts. An animal control officer was on scene and said the animal will likely live.

No one was present to see how the horse escaped from its home on the other side of Highway 20. The horse’s owners were called.