(CNN) Miguel Mena, one of the most successful jockeys in Churchill Downs history, was killed in a pedestrian accident in Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday night, just six days from his 35th birthday, the racetrack said in a statement on Monday. Churchill Downs said Mena -- whose full name was Jose Miguel Mena Rodriguez -- was killed on westbound I-64 between Blankenbaker Parkway and Hurstbourne Lane. According to the Jeffersontown Police Department, Mena was struck by a vehicle after 7:30 p.m. on I-64 Westbound near Hurstbourne Parkway. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office in a press release ruled Mena's death an accident and stated that he died from blunt force injuries. "This news is absolutely shocking, terrible and heartbreaking," Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson said in a statement.

Source: CNN November 03, 2021 03:27 UTC