Driver, granddaughter injured in crash that killed horse, hurt rider

The woman was driving south on Ga. 81 near Meridian Park in Loganville when she hit the horse, authorities said.

The woman was driving south on Ga. 81 near Meridian Park in Loganville when she hit the horse, authorities said.

A 65-year-old driver and her granddaughter were both rushed to a hospital after their car crashed into a horse on a Georgia highway, killing the animal and injuring its rider.

Susan Head was driving her Chevrolet south on Ga. 81 near Meridian Park in Loganville with her 6-year-old grandchild, Kelsie Brady, in the car about 9:30 p.m. Sunday when she crashed into the horse, which was in the middle of her lane, city spokesman Robbie Schwartz confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The horse died at the scene, Schwartz said. Its rider, 26-year-old Fernande Esparza, was thrown from the horse onto the grass near the road, a crash report obtained by the AJC shows.

Esparza was taken to Piedmont Walton Hospital in Monroe with non-life-threatening injuries.

After the collision, the car continued forward and eventually struck a tree, the report shows. Soon after, Head had a heart attack at the scene and had to be rushed to Piedmont Walton, Schwartz said. Brady was taken to a Children’s Hospital location with serious injuries.

Head has since been taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she is in the intensive care unit, Schwartz said.

A GoFundMe page created by a family friend to cover medical expenses has raised more than $2,000 in the past week. According to the page, Head is on life support and Brady underwent a six-hour surgery to repair her broken left leg, her right ankle and foot.

“It is in God’s hands now and with his help she will fight through this,” the post said.

The crash remains under investigation.

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