The 10-year-old stallion named Bullwinkle suffered severe injuries after getting hit by a utility task vehicle on Corolla Beach close to midnight, according to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. He had to be euthanized on Saturday morning.
Bullwinkle was one of the endangered wild horses that roam the beaches on the north end of the Outer Banks.
The driver was later identified as 57-year-old Porter Williamson of Chesapeake, Virginia, and he fled the scene on foot, according to the Currituck County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies located and arrested Porter. He was charged with resisting arrest. Authorities also said Rhonda Williamson was charged with resisting arrest and providing false information to law enforcement.
On Facebook, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund called the incident a major loss for the herd that could be felt for generations to come. Bullwinkle was in his prime and was starting to acquire and reproduce.
The nonprofit posted a video the day before of Bullwinkle and another stallion fighting over mares.
The post read in part:
"Bullwinkle died as wild as he lived; at no point did he welcome our intervention and he remained wary and defensive even as he laid on the dune unable to stand anymore. The fight drive that he was always known for never left him, right up to the end. He was exactly what a wild Banker stallion is supposed to be, and we are glad that he at least never had to leave the beach - he was never meant to."
According to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, the 10-year-old stallion was buried at the edge of the meadow where they filmed the video Thursday.