Two horses were killed and their riders injured in a violent crash near Santa Clarita earlier this week. 

Marcela De Vivo says that she was riding with her husband, daughter and a few friends on Monday evening, when a car hurtled towards them as they crossed the intersection of Iron Canyon Road and San Canyon Road. 

The force of the crash shattered De Vivo’s knee, sending her to the hospital where she is set to undergo multiple surgeries. It also killed two horses, including her own Norma Jean. 

“He was going so fast, that even if he stopped, they were not gonna be able to get out of the way,” De Vivo said. 

She said that they were getting ready to cross the road when they saw the car approaching in the distance. They figured that they had enough time to cross, but due to the speed of the driver, they were unable to make it without two of the horses getting hit. 

“I hope he faces consequences,” she said. “He needs to. But, there’s just this disregard for their lives that they don’t deserve. My horse, Norma Jean, she saw that car coming as much as I did and she didn’t leave. She stayed, she could have run, and she didn’t because I asked her to stay.”

One of the horses died at the scene and the second had to be euthanized at a later time after suffering multiple broken legs. 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is handling the investigation. They plan to present the case to the District Attorney’s Office after their investigation is complete.