Steve Harman | The Tennessean
By Nicole Young and Andy Humbles / The Tennessean
The Tennessee Highway Patrol and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration remain at the scene of a horse trailer collapse on Interstate-440 near Interstate-24, Metro Police said.
The two agencies are conducting a thorough inspection of the scene and will decide if any charges will be placed in connection with the incident, which occurred at about 1 p.m., according to Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron.
"This was not a motor vehicle crash. This was a structural failure with the trailer, and as such, the Metro Police Department has no enforcement mechanism," Aaron said.
After the accident occurred, a second tractor trailer truck with an open air trailer was brought to the scene to pick up the 37 horses that were being carried on the first truck. Aaron said two veterinarians, one of them from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, were at the scene.
"One horse could not get up in the disabled trailer [and] had to be euthanized," he said.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture will determine where the remaining 36 horses will be taken, Aaron added.
"It was our understanding that the horses were en-route from Lebanon to Mexico," he said.
Police did confirm that Three Angels Farm, of Lebanon, was involved at the scene but did not specify their involvement.
Three Angels Farm came under scrutiny in January when one of its trucks wrecked near Dickson. Of the 38 horses on board, three died in the crash, which officials said was caused when the driver of the truck fell asleep at the wheel.
A call to Three Angels Farm and its owner have not been returned.
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A large horse trailer carrying horses has broken down and is blocking the right lane on Interstate-440 westbound near the I-24 ramp on the south side of downtown Nashville.
At least some of the horses are being transferred to another trailer or truck. It wasn't immediately known how many horses were on the trailer.
The breakdown occurred at around 1 p.m. today. The initial clearing estimate is scheduled for 4 p.m.