Horse injured in OUI crash in Rutland

RUTLAND, Mass. — A horse was injured in an OUI crash on Saturday March 28 in Rutland.

According to Rutland police, officers were dispatched around 12:30 a.m. to a report of a vehicle off the road into a shed on Wachusett Street. The caller reported that the vehicle was attempting to turn around and leave the scene.

The arriving officer observed a white Grand Cherokee in the back yard of the residence pressed up against a tree with substantial front-end damage, and the front right tire was completely gone.

The vehicle was also surrounded by broken fences. 20-year-old Luke Persson was identified as the person in the vehicle.

Police said it appeared that the vehicle involved in the crash had veered off the road, run through a metal link fence, through a plastic horse pen fence, and into the horse stable.

The vehicle then appeared to have backed out hitting another metal fence, and then when the vehicle pulled forward in attempt to leave, it got stuck on a tree.

Persson allegedly told officers he was feeling “one hundred percent,” and declined field sobriety tests and a Breathalyzer, although he allegedly had to be supported by two officers to stand up straight. He also told officers he had not been drinking.

An officer said they observed vomit all over the center consol and front passenger seat, and Persson appeared to have bloodshot and glassy eyes, and could not form complete sentences. Police said they smelled an alcoholic beverage in the car.

Persson was charged with an OUI, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and destruction of property over $1,200. An officer indicated that he vomited in the back of the cruiser on the way to the station, in the booking room, and continued to do so in his cell. The officer said an odor of an alcoholic beverage was coming from the back of his police cruiser that was not there before.

A Rutland Animal Control officer followed up on one of the horses that was injured, a 20-year-old horse named Chesa who sustained an injury to her front right leg. Chesa was not able to get up on her own after the incident and had seen a veterinarian.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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