A rig full of cattle overturned early Tuesday morning, creating a chaotic scene that closed Timmen Road south of La Center for hours.
Emergency crews were called to Northwest Timmen Road near Northwest Spencer Road about 1:45 a.m. for a single-vehicle crash, Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Dawdy said.
A truck was traveling north when it went off the west side of the road, sheared off a power pole, rolled and came to rest in a ditch, Dawdy said.
The driver was going too fast to negotiate the curve and the load shifted, La Center Police Chief Marc Denney said.
Emergency personnel extricated the driver, who suffered a minor head injury and was taken to an area hospital as a precaution, Denney said.
The driver, whose name was not immediately available, will be cited for suspicion of negligent driving, Denney said.
Some cows died and others were injured and had to be euthanized on scene, Dawdy said. At least 37 of the rig’s 42 cows died in the ordeal, Denney said. The other cows that weren’t injured had to be wrangled and kept in a makeshift corral.
Employees from Walt’s Wholesale Meats in Woodland, where the cows were going to be slaughtered, responded to the scene to collect the cows and clean up the carcases, Denney said.
La Center police remained on scene while a tow truck hauled away the rig and crews from Clark Public Utilities responded to the scene to deal with the power pole and downed power lines.
Traffic was blocked until 9 a.m., Denney said.
