9 Cows Killed in Freeway Accident That Snarls Traffic

A truck hauling a 28-foot trailer with about 40 dairy cows aboard was in a wreck involving two other trucks and a hot dog vending wagon on the Foothill Freeway in Tujunga early Wednesday, leaving nine animals dead and closing a mile of the freeway for nine hours.

John Anker was driving west in the freeway’s fast lane near La Tuna Canyon Road about 12:40 a.m. when his truck struck a big rig stopped for the hot dog wagon, which had come unhitched from a third truck, said CHP Officer Jordan Van Meeter.

The truck pulling the wagon was parked on the freeway’s right shoulder as the driver called for help. Anker’s truck struck the big rig, spun out of control, then struck the parked truck and a guardrail before coming to a stop on the right shoulder, Van Meeter said.

“I didn’t see the big rig until it was too late,” said Anker, 41, of Ontario.

The cow trailer that Anker’s truck was pulling fell partially on its left side, piling the cows on top of one another inside and causing eight to suffocate. A ninth cow sustained a broken back and was put to death.

The surviving cows were transferred to another truck and taken to Bakersfield.

Anker said he was not seriously hurt. No other injuries were reported.

All four lanes of the westbound Foothill Freeway were closed from Lowell Avenue to La Tuna Canyon Road for nine hours, frustrating early morning commuters with a traffic jam, Van Meeter said.