Driver in trailer crash: ‘I haven’t slept since’

The driver towing the trailer that tipped over on the M40 has spoken about the moment she heard a ‘thump’ and found her car spinning across the motorway.

Strong winds

Rae Howard-Louvaine was taking a neglected mare and foal from Kent to their new home at Wonky Pets Rescue in Warwickshire when the accident happened.

According to witnesses, strong winds literally lifted the trailer off the road, and when it bumped back down again, Rae began to lose control of her car.

“I felt a sudden thump and then my car starting snaking from one side of the road to the other,” Rae told H&C. “We were going down a hill so we gathered momentum and then I started to lose control.

“I remember saying to my passenger ‘we are going to crash.’ And then the trailer tipped over.”

Crumpled trailer

Rae’s car went over onto two wheels, but the fortunately the trailer detached itself as it fell which stopped the car from turning over. The trailer then spun across the motorway, hitting the central reservation and spinning Rae’s car around in the process.

Incredibly no other vehicles were involved in the accident as Rae managed to keep hold of the car for some time before losing control, which gave other drivers time to back off.

“We ended up facing the trailer and I saw the foal clamber out and run off,” said Rae. “I thought the mare was dead. The back of the trailer was crumpled and it was bent around her body – it looked like she’d been impaled.”

The six-month old foal took off in a panic, galloping down the motorway before jumping the central reservation and running a further mile down the road. He finally ended up trapped on a steep embankment.

Amazing fireman

When the firecrew arrived the first thing they did was cut the mare free. Rae said she was clearly in shock as she remained calm and quiet throughout the whole ordeal.

“It probably saved her life – all she suffered was cuts and bruises,” said Rae.

The firecrew then set about capturing the foal, which was no easy feat, as he had never been handled before.

“There was an amazing fireman who had been with the foal for a couple of hours by now,” said Rae. “He had obviously bonded with him and managed to get close.

“They had to cut down a lot of trees to reach him, and then they put ropes around him and dragged him down the embankment. It was the only way to get him to safety.”

Traumatised

Both horses were put onto a horsebox and continued their journey to Wonky Pets where Rae says they are doing really well and settled into their new home. The 32-year-old is still traumatised by the ordeal, however.

“It still hasn’t sunk in and I haven’t slept since,” she said. “It could have been so much worse, which is really playing on mind.

“I don’t think I’ll ever pull a trailer again – feeling that amount of weight out of control behind you and not being able to do anything about it was horrendous.”

Raising funds

While doing a good deed in offering her services to transport the mare and foal Rae says she is now racked with guilt about the accident – and the fact that the charity is faced with a £1,000 bill for extra transport, and an emergency call out.

“It doesn’t sound a lot, but it’s only a tiny charity and it comes out of their own pocket,” she said. “They also need to pay for the mare to have en eye removed as she has an existing tumour – and they’ve discovered she is in-foal again.”