‘Rogue’ cows escape I-95 crash and roam SC neighborhoods. See the ‘unusual’ roundup
“Rogue” cows escaped an Interstate 95 crash and roamed into South Carolina neighborhoods, making for a unique roundup, officials said.
A photo shared online shows a cow near the edge of the pavement as crews got help from ranchers and veterinarians Feb. 13.
“In an unusual (sight), riders on horseback used lassos to catch some of the cows and place them in cattle trailers,” Colleton County Fire-Rescue wrote in a news release.
More than 35 cows were riding on a trailer when the semitruck that was pulling it crashed along I-95, a busy East Coast thoroughfare. The truck hit a southbound bridge and caught fire as its trailer plunged into a river, officials said.
Photos from rescuers show the mangled trailer landed in the water as crews scrambled to round up the loose animals, some of which ran into the woods, the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
“Firefighters and law enforcement discovered several cows in the river and on the banks,” officials wrote. “Some were injured.”
At one point, a car reportedly hit debris in the road and became disabled, blocking one lane.
Rescuers responded to the crash at about 1 a.m. and said the darkness made it difficult to see the cows along the “rural stretch” near near mile marker 55. Part of the interstate was closed in both directions before reopening as of about 10:30 a.m., an S.C. Highway Patrol spokesperson wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
But into the afternoon, crews spent time “chasing down rogue cows that had made it into neighborhoods near the interstate. Fire-Rescue and deputies used drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras to search the swampy areas near the accident and neighboring woods,” rescuers wrote in their news release.
After the crash, the truck driver was taken to Colleton Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. The car driver wasn’t hurt, officials said.
Colleton County Fire-Rescue is based in Walterboro, roughly 50 miles west of Charleston.
This story was originally published February 14, 2024 at 9:47 AM.
