An early-morning accident involving an overturned cattle truck near mile marker 29 of Interstate 85 in Macon County resulted in the deaths of 19 cows Friday, said Alabama Department of Public Safety Sgt. Steven Jarrett.
The truck, which was transporting 109 cows, was traveling in the southbound lane of the interstate at approximately 5 a.m. when it left the roadway, Jarrett said. The scene was cleared shortly after 11 a.m.
After the accident, some of the cattle got loose and were struck by motorists, Jarrett said. Six of eight cows that got loose were secured; two remain unaccounted for.
The driver of the cattle truck was not injured and only one driver in another vehicle sustained an injury, which was minor, Jarrett said. A total of four motorists were involved in collisions with cows.
Alabama Department of Transportation workers, on scene approximately five hours, assisted with traffic control, posting signs warning motorists of cattle in the roadway, ALDOT spokesperson Tony Harris said. Macon County Sheriff’s deputies, Macon County Volunteer Fire departments and State Agriculture officials responded to the scene as well, Jarrett said. One southbound lane was temporarily blocked with wreckage.
All of the cows that died in Friday’s accident did so as a result of injuries sustained in the crash or collisions with other vehicles, said Brad Fields, director of emergency programs with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. Fields said he expects an additional three to five cows involved in Friday’s accident may succumb to traumatic injuries, such broken limbs.
The state dispatched a truck and cattle trailer that were used to collect the carcasses of the dead cows, AGI Deputy Commissioner Brett Hall said. The dead animals will be transported to a landfill for supervised burial in compliance with state and federal regulations.
“According to state and federal laws, in order for a carcass to be harvested for human consumption, it has to be alive and walking to go into a slaughter plant,” Fields said. “You can never take a dead animal to a have it processed for beef at a commercial level.”
The cause of the accident remains under investigation by the Alabama Department of Public Safety.
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