Suspect Arrested In Violent Hit-And-Run Crash That Injured Horse, Driver Near Concord
CONCORD (CBS SF) -- A driver who is suspected of fleeing on foot after slamming into the back of horse trailer earlier this month near Concord leaving a driver and a horse with severe injuries, has been arrested.
It happened on October 4, around 7:30 a.m. The gray Toyata Tundra slammed into the trailer on Kirker Pass Road near Hess Road, just outside of Concord.
The force was so hard, the truck jackknifed, causing the trailer to hit the truck. The driver took off running, according to police.
Now authorities have arrested the suspected driver, identified as 32-year-old Casey Norato. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility.
Since the crash, the horse, named Chance, has undergone multiple surgeries at the University of California at Davis Medical Center.
Chance suffered severe injuries to his jaw and was initially not expected to make it. He was able to survive, thought he will no longer be able to help herd cattle and can never be ridden again with a bit in his mouth.
"He'll have a good life and he'll get to be around cattle. He just won't have a bit in his mouth and they won't ride him the same way," says family attorney Stern Henderson.