A tractor-trailer carrying more than 100 cattle crashed through a highway overpass in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, early Sunday, landing on a car and sending dozens of frightened animals running through city streets. The wreck closed several roads as crews searched for cattle that escaped and survived the impact.
The crash happened shortly before 3 a.m., and efforts to locate and capture the loose cattle continued into the early afternoon, authorities said.
Both the truck driver and the driver of the vehicle struck by the trailer suffered minor injuries. Each was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Kansas City Police Sgt. Phil DiMartino said an estimated 45 to 60 cattle died after the semitrailer overturned while traveling on westbound I-70 and fell from the curve above southbound I-35. The truck was carrying between 120 and 130 animals.
The animals that escaped scattered across the area, with some contributing to additional crashes and prompting a wave of calls from residents reporting sightings, DiMartino said.
“It is believed all cows have now been accounted for,” DiMartino said in an updated statement released Sunday afternoon.
The incident unfolded as the Kansas City Chiefs prepared to host the Los Angeles Chargers in an NFL game. Authorities did not expect the cattle escape to cause major problems for game-day traffic, in part because the crash had received widespread publicity.
Several cattle traveled miles from the crash site before being caught, according to Kansas City Fire Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.
“It was a pretty nasty accident,” Hopkins said.
After the crash, city officials deployed drones to monitor the animals’ movements. A private company coordinated with the trucking firm and sent workers on horseback to help bring the cattle back, Hopkins said.
The most challenging part of the operation, he added, was recovering the animals that had died.