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KNYSNA NEWS - The horses that were injured in last week's accident at the N2/George Rex Drive interchange, are recovering well from their injuries, vets have confirmed.
The mare, named Mirror of the Moon, and her two-month-old filly have been under the care of Dr Wendy Tait at Animal Antics since the accident on Tuesday 15 November. "The filly has fully recovered, she's been great," Tait confirmed.
It has however been slower progress for the mare, as she was a little worse for wear than her filly. Tait confirmed that she suffered quite a few bruises on her body as well as some bad cuts to her head.
"But, she's very strong and doing much better now. She is moving around quite a bit and she should make a full recovery fairly soon," Tait said.
The horses are originally from stables in Gqeberha and were being transported to Cape Town when they were caught up in the accident in Knysna, where, it is thought, the brakes of a Coca-Cola delivery truck failed when he attempted to stop at the N2/Old Toll Road interchange.
According to reports on social media, the truck rolled backwards due to the alleged brake failure, ramming into other vehicles.
Dr Wendy Tait, who was the first vet on the scene of the accident, gives Mirror of the Moon some love.
According to Southern Cape police spokesperson Sgt Chris Spies, a total of seven vehicles were involved (including the truck), but he could not confirm the cause of the accident being brake failure, as it "forms part of the ongoing police probe".
At the time Spies confirmed that a reckless and negligent driving investigation was opened, but as at Tuesday 22 November no arrests had been made.
"The docket will be submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority upon conclusion of the investigation for a decision to prosecute or otherwise," he said.
The horses were being transported in a horse box, towed by a Volkswagen Amarok, when the delivery truck rolled backwards and struck the Amarok. "This led to the horse box being tipped over, and the mare being trapped underneath the partition in the horse box," said Dr Howard Pettifer of the Knysna Veterinary Clinic. Pettifer was the second vet to arrive at the scene of the accident after Tait.
"I administered her a sedative as well as some pain killers while we were trying to get her out," Tait said.
PHOTO GALLERY: Horses recovering well after accident
The mare's back left leg was also trapped in the horse box. Tait believes she had tried in vain to kick her way out. However, after a couple of hours of hard work, the horses were safely extracted from the trailer. Both Tait and Pettifer praised the recovery team of Knysna Motor Strippers for the assistance they provided with extracting the horses. They remain in the care of Animal Antics and Dr Wendy Tait.
Spies confirmed that eight people were injured in the accident. "A total of eight occupants sustained injuries of which a 56-year-old man sustained serious injuries to the arm," he said.
The two-month-old filly is making a wonderful recovery.
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