Alabama Woman Dies, and 2 Others Are Injured, After Car Strikes a Horse on Roadway in Freak Accident: Police

An Alabama woman was killed, and two others suffered injuries, after their vehicle struck a horse that was standing in the road just before midnight this week.

Janice W. Bullard died after the vehicle she was a passenger in crashed into the animal on Jan. 14 at around 11:40 p.m. local time on U.S. 231, roughly eight miles south of the town of Rockford, according to a release from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) obtained by PEOPLE.

After hitting the horse on the roadway, located in Coosa County, the vehicle veered off and "struck a large rock," authorities said.

Bullard, 63, who was reportedly not using a seat belt in the car, a 2015 Chrysler 200, was pronounced dead at the scene, the ALEA said.

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The vehicle's driver, Angela M. Lackey, 47, and a fellow passenger, Nina S. Lackey, 67, were both transported to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital for injuries.

The crash took place near the 181-mile marker of U.S. 231 — which runs over 900 miles from Indiana to Florida.

"Nothing further is available as Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division continue to investigate," the ALEA said.

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The crash in Alabama comes four months after a man died when a horse collided with his vehicle as he was traveling through Norco, Calif., on Sept. 22.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) / Riverside County Fire Department said in a Facebook post at the time that firefighters responded to a "solo vehicle traffic collision with a horse" on Interstate 15 shortly after 2 a.m. local time, before declaring a victim and the horse dead.

Another person, identified as the vehicle's driver, was "transported by ground ambulance with minor injuries," authorities added.

Per The San Bernardino Sun, the horse got loose when the car towing its trailer struck a guardrail. According to the outlet, the victim was a 25-year-old man, and the animal reportedly went through the windshield of the gray Honda Accord he was in.

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