More About Overnight Crashes Involving Donkeys

SAN ANGELO, TX – More details have been discovered regarding the crash into donkeys that occurred Thursday in Grape Creek and at least one party of a donkey transaction that took place immediately prior to the crash involving those same donkeys on a major highway is worried about liability.

As previously reported, on June 14, 2023 at around 10 p.m., Grape Creek VFD Firefighters were dispatched to the intersection of US 87 and Ballard Rd. for the report of a major crash involving multiple donkeys and vehicles. For the original story see: Multiple Donkeys Killed in Crash on US 87 North. The following morning, the donkey crash was said to have been two separate crashes near the same location.

New information revealed by one side claiming to be the recently former owners of the donkeys came out the next day. According to the Donkeys' former owner, Tammy Potter, on Facebook on June 12, 2023, in a post that was published in the Grape Creek Community Page, she was seeking someone to take the three donkeys. She warned that these donkeys were "wild."

Moving to Wednesday night, a group from Eastland traveled to Grape Creek to take the three donkeys having read Potter's post on Facebook. 

"They were almost loaded up in their trailer [when] they broke out, and headed straight to the highway," said the donkeys' then-former owner. "After the first accident the people that came to get them took off saying they couldn't stick around. These people took off so fast. They could barely speak English. Now I have no idea what the repercussions are gonna be. My husband is ate up with guilt because of the 2 wrecks."

Potter claimed she videotaped who she said were the new owners of the donkeys loading the animals before the donkeys broke loose and headed to US 87.

The three donkeys died in the crash. Two died instantly in a crash and the third was euthanized on scene because of a broken leg and a gash on the donkey's hip. 

The crashes were cleaned up on Thursday night but commenters on Facebook claimed that the donkeys were still on the side the highway Friday morning. 

"My husband is out there now trying to gather them all up and dispose of them," Potter said this morning on Facebook. No human was injured in either of the two collisions with the donkeys.