A father of four, Jaime Sosa, 45, of Los Lagos, died sometime between 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 5, and 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning after his motorcycle ran into a horse between Miles 13 and 14 on the Northern Highway.
Sosa, who reportedly did not die on impact, lay on the road for nearly four hours before he was finally taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
The fatal accident occurred in front of the community of Los Lagos, Ladyville, and only about a mile away from Sosa’s home. We are told he was heading home when suddenly, a horse named “Tequila” got in his way, causing him to lose control of his motorbike, bearing license plate BMP-0843.
Sosa was flung from the bike and landed forcefully on his face. The bike was also wrecked.
This afternoon, Amandala visited Sosa’s home. Besides speaking with Sosa’s relatives, we also were able to speak with a few of the residents of the community, who said that Sosa’s death could have been prevented.
The family, agreeing that the horse caused the accident, blamed the animal’s owner for Sosa’s death, because the horses have escaped more than once from their pasture, which is located at the very back of Los Lagos, they said.
On the night of the incident, Sosa’s wife and her brother were the first at the scene. At first, Sosa appeared alive, but they were not allowed to touch him due to the protocol for emergency scenes.
The family says that when the police arrived, they left and then returned and waited for the Scenes of Crime personnel to process the scene, but that a lot of time passed before the person responsible for taking pictures arrived.
By the time the scene was processed and Sosa was transported to the hospital, it was already 3:00 a.m., and he appeared dead.
The family still cannot comprehend why the police took so long to get the job done, but believe that Sosa could have lived if he had been taken for medical attention when he was first found.
After Sosa’s body was taken to the hospital by the police, the family began hunting for “Tequila”. She was later found at around 6:00 a.m. on Sunday in a state of confusion, and in pain at the very back of Los Lagos.
The family is certain that “Tequila,” a female horse, is the horse that caused the accident, because she was found with several cut wounds on the leg and hoof.
Tonight we spoke with an individual who looks after the horses belonging to a nearby resort, and he told us that while they do have a horse named “Tequila,” that he checked all his horses today (Monday), and all of them were in the pasture, and none appeared to be injured.
He said that indeed the horses have escaped from time to time, but it was because people have cut the pasture wire to steal horses, leaving holes through which some of the other horses have escaped.
There is presently a case in court, we were told, based on the trespassing and stealing that the resort has had to endure.
The caretaker said that there were other horses in the area, and he believes that Sosa’s family needs to find out who owns the horse involved in the accident, especially since his horse is a male.
He also heard, he said, that Sosa’s cycle did not have good headlights, and therefore, his visibility was limited.
In the meantime, the residents said they fear the terrible incident could repeat itself if something is not done.
At the scene of the accident, police found pieces of the horse’s mane on the motorcycle’s handle.