Cattle Truck Rolls Over On I-74 - KWQC-TV6 News and Weather For The Quad Cities -

Cattle Truck Rolls Over On I-74

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It was a chaotic scene after a cattle truck overturned on Interstate 74 Friday morning between Andover and Lynn Center and it took crews from several agencies hours to clear the crash scene.

Cows got loose on the highway and the driver of the truck had to be rushed to the hospital. It happened before dawn, and two drivers approaching the accident scene, 63-year-old Lyle L. Austin of Galesburg and 41-year-old George Adams of New Windsor, ended up hitting some of the cows on the highway.

"The cows are black and it was dark. So it was hard to see. Motorists couldn't see them, we were trying to locate them," said Master Sgt. Tom Burek with Illinois state Police.

Troopers say the drivers suffered minor injuries but their cars may be totaled. Some of the cows are dead, others are hurt.

They set-up a temporary fence where they could corral the animals. Meanwhile, firefighters were busy cutting open the damaged semi trailer in order to get the remaining animals out.

Traffic had to be stopped in both directions while crews rounded up the remaining cattle and cleaned up the scene. The highway is back open.

Illinois State Police say the driver, from Indiana, admitted he fell asleep behind the wheel. He's been cited with improper lane usage and driving a commercial vehicle while fatigued.