LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) – A young girl suffered a head injury and was hospitalized after being kicked by a wild horse in a popular hiking area outside Las Vegas.

Haley Wilkey said her family, including four children, was visiting Mount Charleston over the weekend when her three-year-old daughter, Olivia, was hit by the horse.

“I thought she died because she was unresponsive,” Wilkey said.

The family was in the Lee Meadows area doing a photo shoot for another family when two wild horses appeared and walked calmly alongside some people having a picnic.

According to Wilkey, people approached the horses and one of the animals then approached her daughter Olivia and kicked her in the head.

Wilkey screamed for her husband, who rushed to the scene. With no cell reception, he eventually drove down the mountain to call for help.

The mother’s screams also attracted another man to the scene whom the family did not know.

“He had a first aid kit with him. He gave me gauze and helped me put pressure on her head until the bleeding subsided a little,” Wilkey said.

Both the man and Wilkey applied pressure to the bleeding wound with their hands.

“When we released the pressure a little bit, it started flowing again,” she said. “I think it took almost 45 minutes for the ambulance to come, and I was holding her head.”

An ambulance picked up the little girl and a helicopter flew her to the hospital.

“They saved her life,” said Olivia’s father, Austin Wilkey.

The family says scans at the hospital showed no brain problems and Olivia was able to sit up in bed and talk on Tuesday night before she was able to walk on Wednesday.

The family did not receive the phone number of the passing passerby who helped, but wanted to thank him for his help.

“I wish I had his phone number. I actually hugged him. I told him so much thanks. You saved my daughter,” Austin Wilkey said.

Haley Wilkey added: “Just thank you. I don’t have the words to express how grateful I am. Thank you.”

Olivia’s mother later said that they had been too close to the horses back then and with the knowledge they have today, they would not even stay in the pasture if horses were nearby.

Copyright 2024 KVVU via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.