A horse tale? Trailer tips ... and equine vets appear out of nowhere

The horse's name is Delaney, but it now might want to go by "Lucky."

Delaney's trailer overturned about 10:55 a.m. Tuesday on Route 47 north of Jericho Road in Sugar Grove. Karen Marie Le Sueur, 53, of Champaign, was driving a 2002 Toyota truck pulling the horse trailer when she hit an icy patch and slid off the west side of the road.

What happened next falls into the realm of extreme coincidence, or fate, or chance. Not only did a number of Good Samaritans stop to help, but several were experts in equine care.

"One of the first persons on the scene was a woman who recently completed specialized treatment in the emergency care of horses," said Investigator John Sizer of the Sugar Grove Police Department. "Then another woman stopped and said, 'I can help, I'm an equine veterinarian. "

The horse tale didn't end there. According to Sizer, two men who said they were equine dentists also stopped and offered to help.

"All these Good Samaritans came out of nowhere," Sizer said.

With all these experts at the scene to assist police and fire personnel, the horse was sedated, removed from the trailer, and treated for minor injuries, including a cut below the eye. No people were injured.

Once the horse recovered from the sedative, he was loaded into another trailer. Traffic on Route 47 was reduced to one lane for two hours while Delaney, an 11-year-old male, was being helped.

"He had some trouble getting back on his feet," Sizer said. "But it wasn't his time to die."

Sugar Grove Police Chief Brad Sauer reported the incident to the village board at Tuesday's evening meeting.

"What are the chances of all this?" Sauer said after relating the incident. "Less than the Cubs winning the World Series."