Hampshire man seriously injured when pickup collided with runaway horse

A Hampshire man was injured seriously early Thursday morning when his pickup truck collided with a runaway horse in rural Plato Township.

The Kane County sheriff's office said a deputy was driving south on Route 47 near Rohrsen Road about 12:40 a.m. and saw a dead horse in the road. The deputy then located a Dodge Ram pickup that appeared to have struck the horse and gone off the road after the impact.

The driver, a 39-year-old man and sole occupant of the truck, was taken by helicopter to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge with serious injuries.

Deputies spoke to the horses's owner, who was out searching for the horse after it had broken out of its stable. The owner suspected the horse was suffering from a medical issue before it escaped.

The crash remains under investigation.