A 46-year-old Oak Harbor woman was killed Thursday evening after being kicked by a horse.

According to Lt. Mike Hawley with the Island County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred at a house just north of Jones Road on Highway 20. Some details are still unclear, but he confirmed that the woman was visiting a friend and was in a corral when she was kicked.

“It was a tragic accident as far as we can tell,” Hawley said.

Island County Coroner Robert Bishop identified the woman Friday morning as Cheryl Kottke of Oak Harbor.

Bishop said Kottke had been around horses since she was a teenager. She kept her horses at the farm where the accident occurred, he said.

The 911 call came in at 6:53 p.m. A sheriff’s deputy was the first to arrive and found Kottke not breathing. The officer began CPR and was later relieved by North Whidbey Fire and Rescue and Whidbey General Hospital paramedics.

Kottke’s injuries were serious enough that emergency responders planned to transport her by ambulance to Soundview Shopper convenience store near Deception Pass, where a helicopter landed to airlift her to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Kottke’s condition forced a change in plans, however, North Whidbey Fire Chief Marv Koorn said.

“We had the helo on the ground but she wasn’t in good enough condition to fly,” he said.

According to Bishop, Kottke died from her injuries, but he could not say Friday morning where she had been kicked. There were several different witnesses and an autopsy had not yet been performed.

Kottke was married with one daughter.

Reporter Jessie Stensland contributed to this report.