'A Big Mess' After Cattle Wander Onto Interstate

A large herd of cattle escaped from a North Dakota pasture and wandered onto an interstate highway, causing a semi to overturn and resulting in the deaths of 25 of the animals. The North Dakota Highway Patrol said the cattle walked out of a pasture adjacent to Interstate 94 near Driscoll around 1am Monday and congregated under an overpass, the AP reports. A semi hauling refrigerated produce hit the herd, causing the truck to overturn and leading to a small fire that was quickly extinguished. The driver escaped injury.

A short time later, a Ford Escape also struck the cattle. The driver was hospitalized with cuts and bruises. A Ford Fusion then struck the cattle. All four people in the car, two adults and two children, were taken to a hospital for evaluation. The crashes forced the interstate to close for several hours. North Dakota Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeremiah Bohn says the black cattle gathered on both eastbound and westbound lanes and were hard to see in the dark, AgWeek reports. "It was a big mess," he says.

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