75 Cows Die, Dozens Hurt as Tractor-Trailer Overturns

A tractor-trailer loaded with cattle overturned on the Foothill Freeway in Sylmar early Saturday, killing 75 cows and injuring dozens of others--many of which had to be pried from the wreckage by firefighters, authorities said.

The driver of the truck, a 32-year-old Arizona man whose name was not released, crashed the truck into the center divider near the Golden State Freeway about 2:45 a.m. and the cab caught fire, said Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

The driver suffered several cuts and complained of knee pain, and was taken to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Humphrey said.

Firefighters used the “jaws of life” to free trapped cows, some of which were crushed to death under the weight of other cows, authorities said.

It took firefighters and volunteers from the Equine Emergency Response Team several hours to disentangle the animals, which weigh 300 to 400 pounds apiece, said Lt. Robert Pena of the East Valley Animal Care and Control Center.

During the rescue, two lanes of the freeway were closed, authorities said.

Of the 143 cows aboard the double-deck trailer, 74 were killed or so seriously injured in the crash that they had to be destroyed, Pena said. The remaining 68 were taken to the West Valley Animal Care and Control Center in Chatsworth until the owner can arrange to pick them up, he said.

One cow managed to escape the trailer but was killed by an oncoming car, Pena said. It was unknown whether the driver of the car was injured.

The dead animals were loaded onto Caltrans trucks and taken to the Wildlife Waystation in the Angeles National Forest, where they will be used as food for the animals there, Pena said.

The Wildlife Waystation is a refuge for exotic animals, such as lions, tigers and vultures, that are no longer wanted by their owners or are there for rehabilitation until they grow old and die, Pena said. “The options were either to take them to a rendering processing plant where their body parts would be ground to be used as fertilizer, or to provide food to the Wildlife Waystation,” Pena said. “It was the best of both things.”