Woman Dies in Rodeo Event Accident After Horse Plows Through Gate

A young woman died last Friday in what some are calling a freak accident at a rodeo event in Georgia.

Breanna Chadwick, 20, was at an event hosted by the Murray County Saddle Club on Friday night in Chatsworth, about 85 miles outside of Atlanta. During one of the segments, a horse in the arena plowed into a gate that struck her, a spokesperson from the Murray County Fire Department told the Dalton Daily Citizen. Chadwick later passed away at the hospital.

Chadwick was life-flighted to a nearby hospital, according to a Facebook post made by her sister, Kirstin. "Lord, please pray for my sister, Breanna Chadwick. She has been in a horrible accident. We need all the prayers we can get for her. They [are] airlifting her to Erlanger Hospital and the doctors said to prepare for the worst," her sister wrote.

Another family member posted on Facebook on Friday that "She has no brain activity and is breathing through a vent."

"While we are in so much pain and have so many questions of why. We have great comfort in knowing she is in a much better place and its all in Gods plan," said family member Kristy Chadwick on Facebook.

The Murray County Saddle Club also posted on Facebook, writing that the events hosted by the club over the weekend were set to continue. "After a lot of tears and heavy considerations we have spoken with a member of the Chadwick family. At there request the shows will go on and parade. We will have a candlelight vigil in honor of Breanna Chadwick," the Saddle Club wrote.

Chadwick was a student at Reinhardt University and was studying to be a third grade teacher. "She loved the color teal, her jeep, Lily, and Peanut, but most of all she loved her family and friends," the obituary read. "She touched so many lives and will continue for many years."

A GoFundMe page was created for the family and funeral expenses, and it had raised almost $23,000 at the time of publication.

Accidents take place at rodeos fairly often. In February, an 18-year-old bull-rider fell unconscious after being bucked off, and his father managed to run into the arena and save him before he could be trampled by the raging bull.

In other horse-related accidents, a highway pileup in late March was the result of a truck hauling a horse trailer rear-ending another car before several other drivers crashed as well. The horse was uninjured, but a van on its way to a funeral home was involved in the wreck, and during the chaos a body was ejected from the vehicle onto the highway.

An Amish couple was killed last October after being rear-ended by a pickup truck while riding in a horse-drawn buggy in Virginia. The couple's eight children were injured in the accident.

Newsweek reached out to the Murray County Fire Department for comment.