Two people were injured and a horse was killed in a crash near Courtland early Wednesday morning.

Brenten J. Ashpole, 21, of North Mankato remained hospitalized Wednesday at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Ashpole was driving a 1996 Pontiac that crashed into a horse at 12:52 a.m. on Highway 14.

His father, Rick Ashpole of Eagle Lake, said Brenten had a broken bone in his neck and was being kept overnight for observation. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were no signs of paralysis, and surgery wasn’t going to be necessary, Rick Ashpole said.

“He’s doing fine,” he said. “If everything checks out tomorrow, he should be good to go home.”

Emily R. Olstad, 17, of New Ulm was a passenger in the car, which was owned by her mother, Stephanie Jobe, according to a State Patrol report. She was treated at New Ulm Medical Center for leg injuries and released.

Rick Ashpole said Brenten, who was traveling west on Highway 14, told him he turned to talk to Olstad briefly before seeing a large, dark object in the road. Brenten didn’t realize it was a horse until after the crash, Rick Ashpole said.

The horse was owned by Robert and Carol Folsom, who live near Nicollet County Road 25 intersection where the crash occurred just east of Courtland. They could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Matt Tjaden of Ruthton said he was returning home from Mankato with his mother, Ellen Feuerhelm, when they came upon the crash. He said they were there within a few minutes after the large horse was hit and called 911 with a cell phone.

“The horse was already dead by the time we got there,” Tjaden said. “We just assisted the victims. They said they were just driving down the road, looked up, and there it was.”

The horse was still in the middle of the road. There were several people there, but it was too large to move to the ditch, Tjaden said. So the people who stopped to help directed traffic around the horse and severely damaged car until a trooper and deputies arrived.