For the first time since the tragic parade-related horse accident that took the life of Sherry Lizzethe Galindo last month, an eyewitness has shared a detailed account of Galindo’s fatal fall.
Gregory Faucett, owner of Stylesville Barber Shop in Pacoima, was at his shop watching the Pacoima Holiday Parade – held Dec. 9, 2023 – that directly passed his shop on Van Nuys Blvd.
After the parade was over, Faucett was out on the sidewalk when he saw a woman on a horse just over a block away heading back down Van Nuys Boulevard in the opposite direction from what was the parade route.
Initially, he wasn’t alarmed; he knew from previous parades that participants on horseback usually rode the parade route in reverse after it was over to get back to their vehicles. When Faucett first spotted Galindo the horse was galloping southwest near Bradley Avenue and at first glance he thought she was an experienced rider who was “showing off that she can ride the horse because she started slowly but surely sliding to the right,” he told the San Fernando Sun/el Sol.
Then the horse started gaining speed. As it approached, he noticed Galindo sliding further down the side of the horse, which started galloping even faster. Faucett said he suddenly realized: “She’s losing control.”
“By the time we’re eye to eye [as the horse passed in front of him] … it seemed like she just looked at me and her eyes rolled backward,” he recounted.
A few feet later, Galindo fell off the horse, he said.
“She was already leaning on the side of the horse, barely holding on, [so] when she fell, she hit her head, and slid on top of her head … and then she rolled,” he added.
Faucett and other bystanders gathered near Galindo, who was “breathing very heavily” and appeared to be having a seizure, he said. As they waited for the ambulance, he never saw her regain consciousness.
Faucett estimated that it took 15 to 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive on the scene.
Galindo died two days later at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills; she was 35 years old. She left behind three sons: a 4-year-old, an 11-year-old and a 15-year-old.
“I’m going to say it how I [saw] it – I think something spooked the horse,” said Faucett, who described the accident as a tragedy, especially for Galindo’s mother, Mayra Vasquez.
“Parents are never supposed to bury their kids,” he said. “That’s not supposed to happen.”
Family Seeking Answers
More than a month after that fateful day, Vasquez is still hoping for answers to her lingering questions about why and how the deadly accident happened.
Since that day, Vasquez has heard partial secondhand accounts about the events leading up to the accident, including that Galindo’s friend (who she believes is the owner of the horse her daughter was riding) called her after the parade started, inviting her to join the last portion of the parade.
She knew her daughter had been taking horse riding lessons from that same friend in recent months. On the morning of the parade, Galindo happily told her mother there was a chance she might get to ride in the parade.
Vasquez doesn’t know if Galindo signed a parade waiver before joining in or what safety measures, if any, are in place to vet the horses or riders. Or, if it makes a difference if the accident occurred after the parade was over.
Vasquez said she hopes to hire an attorney who can answer these and other questions and determine any legal culpability.
“I am just heartbroken without answers,” Vasquez told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol.
A member of the local equestrian community (who asked to remain anonymous) told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol he also participated on horseback in last month’s Pacoima Holiday Parade with fellow members of an equestrian group, but said he didn’t know Galindo or witness the accident. He was dismayed when he heard about what happened sometime that evening.
“It seems like it was just a tragic accident,” he said. While he has no knowledge of Galindo’s situation or who owns the horse she was riding, he said all parade participants are supposed to sign a form that “releases, holds harmless and waives all claims against the Pacoima Chamber of Commerce … for any losses or injuries of any kind” stemming from the holiday parade, according to the wording of the waiver.
It’s not known, however, if signing the waiver does in fact absolve all parties of responsibility.
“It just shocked me and sent shockwaves throughout the [equestrian] community,” he said about learning of Galindo’s death. “I feel terrible for the family and her kids. It’s a really sad story.”
Raising Funds for the Kids and Expenses
About 300 mourners attended a funeral service for Galindo on Jan. 13. Vasquez addressed the overflow crowd at a North Hollywood chapel, emphasizing the importance of her faith in coping with the tragedy.
“[Sherry’s] body is here, but she is with God,” said Vasquez, a resident of Van Nuys. “I know where she’s at – and that brings joy to my heart – and God is giving me so much strength.”
To raise money to assist with medical expenses, funeral costs and Galindo’s children, her family set up a GoFundMe page shortly after her death. To supplement the GoFundMe and help with potential legal fees, Vasquez and relatives held a food fundraiser in early January, selling burgers, hot dogs, pozole, tacos and pupusas outside of Faucett’s barbershop, just steps from where Galindo fell off the horse and where loved ones later erected a street memorial in her honor.
“Look, there’s my mom!” said 4-year-old Jordan Gonzalez on the first night of the three-day fundraiser, as he excitedly pointed at a photo of Galindo that was displayed.
With the support of local community members and those who stopped to buy food, they raised over $5,000.
Luis Ramir, Galindo’s uncle, described Galindo’s untimely passing as “an enormous loss to her kids and for the whole family.”
“[Sherry] was a really smart girl. She had a great personality and she was a very loving person,” he told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol during the fundraiser. “It’s so unfortunate what happened because she was trying to move forward with her life.
“She loved her kids; she was a great mom,” continued Ramir. “Her kids loved her, too – she gave them everything.”
Organizers of the Pacoima Holiday Parade have not responded to several inquiries from the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol requesting comment.
A GoFundMe page is set up to assist with medical and funeral expenses and help support Galindo’s three children. To donate, go to: www.gofundme.com/f/sherry-lizzethe-galindo.