Gilroy – A drunken driver ran into a trio of horseback riders
Sunday night in San Martin, causing head trauma to one of the two
riders thrown from his horse.
Gilroy – A drunken driver ran into a trio of horseback riders Sunday night in San Martin, causing head trauma to one of the two riders thrown from his horse.
Jose Calderon Garcia, 33, of San Martin, was driving a 2001 Ford F150 pickup truck on Sycamore Avenue just north of San Martin Avenue at 8:40pm Sunday when his vehicle clipped a horse, one of three being ridden single-file on the road. Garcia apparently didn’t see the three riders, said Chris Armstrong, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. The horse stumbled forward, throwing off its rider and colliding with the second horse, whose rider fell. The second rider, Jose Perez of Gilroy, suffered head injuries and was air-lifted by CalSTAR to Valley Medical Center in San Jose.
VMC was unable to provide information on Perez’ condition by press time Tuesday, and could not say whether he had been released.
Garcia and the other fallen rider suffered minor injuries. All three horses ran from the scene.
CHP investigators arrested Garcia for driving under the influence. He was booked into county jail. After the crash, CHP closed Sycamore Avenue for 45 minutes, to allow the helicopter to land and to clear the accident. The agency is continuing to investigate the crash, and will send a preliminary report to the District Attorney’s office when the investigation is concluded.
