Horses injured slightly in wreck Trailer flips on I-25 ramp
Passers-by, an off-duty SWAT officer and a veterinarian aided police and firefighters in helping horses riding in a trailer that rolled on a highway exit ramp Monday.
The crash happened about 6:45 p.m. on the Rockrimmon Boulevard exit ramp off southbound Interstate 25. Darla Brammeier, 38, was driving a Chevrolet Suburban and towing a trailer with five horses.
"She was driving too fast to make the turn, the trailer separated from the Suburban and flipped over," said Sgt. Dick Reisler of the Colorado Springs police.
Four horses got loose, and one was briefly trapped before being freed by Colorado Springs firefighters.
None of the horses was badly hurt.
Motorists pulled over and led the shaken horses to a grassy area near an office building northwest of the freeway to graze and calm down, Reisler said.
"Imagine the mess if those horses had made it out to the interstate," Reisler said. "We're grateful to those people. The horses were spooked and shook up."
Police called in off-duty officer Robin McPike, a SWAT officer who is also a horseman, to help with the rescue. He called Jim Mahan of Academy Riding Stables and Richard Marciniak of Black Forest to bring trailers and find boarding for the horses.
Veterinarian Lise Andersen, of the Rocky Mountain Equine Clinic in Monument, volunteered to examine the horses.
"There were no vital injuries," Andersen said. "The horses did very well."
She treated one horse for a cut above its eye and gave them tetanus shots. Two of the horses are yearlings, one is a mare with a young colt, and the fifth is a stallion about 4 years old.
"They were just nicks and scratch- es," Andersen said. "It could have been horribly worse."
Reisler said the trailer may have been too small for five horses, but that probably helped prevent worse injuries.
Brammeier, of northern Colorado, told officers she was on her way to Arizona.
She was cited for allegedly driving without a valid license or insurance and careless driving.
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0110 or dhuspeni@gazette.com
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