SYRACUSE – A horse had to be put down after it was struck by a car early this morning on Ind. 13 in Syracuse. A Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department officer responded to the collision, just west of Grandview Drive, around 2:30 a.m. today. A crash report stated when the officer arrived, he observed the horse in very poor condition, suffering multiple injuries from the impact from the car. The officer then put the animal down. The driver of the vehicle, Michael E. VanHalst, 29, Churubusco, said he did not see the horse standing in the roadway until he collided with it. Although his airbags deployed, VanHalst declined medical treatment. VanHalst told police he had just purchased his vehicle to replace a previous vehicle that had been totaled after striking a deer. The owner of Lakeland Animal Clinic, Richard Brungardt, was the owner of the horse. Brungardt arrived on the scene with a tractor to remove the horse from the roadway. Damage from the accident was estimated at between $10,000 and $25,000.
