Rescuers free trapped horses after Interstate 95 wreck

WALTERBORO — A semi hauling six horses in a trailer overturned on the shoulder of Interstate 95 Wednesday night, trapping the animals inside as rescuers worked in a heavy downpour to free them.

Colleton County Fire and Rescue members freed five of the horses through holes they cut in the top of the enclosed trailer. A sixth horse had to be euthanized because of the severity of its injuries, Director Barry McRoy said.

One of two men riding in the trailer also was hurt in the crash. He was taken to Colleton Medical Center, McRoy said.

The wreck happened about 7:30 p.m. when the semi ran off the right shoulder of I-95 near mile marker 43 and fell on its side into an embankment, McRoy said.

The firefighters and paramedics freed the animals, which were treated on scene by staff from the Edisto Equine Clinic on Edisto Island and a Walterboro veternarian. The surviving horses were taken to the clinic by another horse trailer that was traveling ahead of the trailer that wrecked.

McRoy said two cats were also found inside the trailer in good condition.