Two horses died after being struck by vehicles in two separate collisions Friday morning along Route 120 northeast of Woodstock, the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District said Friday.
The fire district was dispatched at 4:57 a.m. to the area of Route 120 and Thompson Road, where crews found two vehicles with heavy damage and two large horses dead in the roadway, according to a news release.
The drivers of both vehicles were uninjured and were the sole occupants of their vehicles, according to the release.
Both vehicles were traveling east on Route 120 when they struck the horses, according to the release. A white Ford van struck one horse at the intersection of Thompson Road, and a red GMC pickup truck struck a second horse just west of the intersection.
The horses came from a nearby boarding facility, but it was unclear how they entered the roadway, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said.
Route 120 was closed in both directions. Crews remained at the scene for about an hour and a half to help clean the road and remove the horses.
The road was reopened in both directions at 6:30 a.m.
The fire district said it did not know how the horses got in the road. The sheriff’s office is investigating the crashes.