Driver Hurt Critically After Hitting Horse : Accident: The animal, which had escaped with two others, was killed. Another horse is destroyed by authorities after motorist strikes it.

A driver was in critical condition Tuesday night after colliding with one of three escaped horses on Santa Ana Canyon Road, police said.

Gary Wagner, 59, of Anaheim was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana with head and chest injuries after his minivan struck the 900-pound horse about 6:30 p.m., said Investigator Chuck O’Connor.

Another driver, Barbara Crowther, 58, of Mission Viejo, suffered minor injuries when her car struck the other two horses, O’Connor said.

It was unclear how the three Arabian horses got loose from their home nearby, O’Connor said.

“We’re not quite sure of they escaped or if someone, not the owner, let them out. The wife went down to feed them and they were gone,” O’Connor said.

One horse died when it collided with the van, and another was destroyed by county animal-control officers. The third horse had only scrapes and was taken back to its home, O’Connor said.

Witnesses said the horses were running east on the road and then crossed a 15-foot median into westbound traffic near Mohler Drive. Wagner’s van hit one of them head-on, O’Conner said.

“The horse went through the windshield and actually peeled back the roof,” he said.

The second vehicle glanced off the other two horses, he said.