A man was killed early Tuesday morning after his motorcycle hit a horse in Upstate New York.

The deadly crash was reported around 4:15 a.m. in Clinton, a small town in Dutchess County in the Hudson Valley .

Craig M. Butler, of Staatsburg, was riding a 2007 Yamaha Chappy north on State Route 96 when his motorcycle crashed into a horse in the road near North Creek Road, the New York State Police said in a news release.

The impact of the crash threw Butler from the motorcycle, troopers said.

Although first responders tried to save him, Butler was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. He was 48 years old.

The horse struck by the motorcycle also died, troopers said.

Troopers did not specify how the horse ended up in the roadway or who the animal belonged to.

The accident happened

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