Overturned cattle hauler shuts down highway for over two hours

Cows roamed free on the I-86 eastbound near Elmira, N.Y. around 12:30 a.m. Friday after their semi hauler tipped over in a multi-vehicle accident.

Two Hour Round-Up

Emergency crews needed almost two hours to round up the herd and clear the highway. According to initial police reports, two tractor trailers and a sedan were involved.

Police said the cattle truck had roughly 35 cows on-board at the time of the crash. At least three cows were killed but the driver of the cattle truck was uninjured.

Unknown Cause of Crash

There’s no official cause of the crash, but snow was falling and covering the road around the time of the crash.

A short time after the crash, Elmira Animal Control Officers were dispatched to the scene.

During recovery efforts, traffic was backed up on both lanes heading eastbound. As of 2:30 a.m. Friday morning, traffic was reopened back to one lane.