Report by Paula Antolini, October 19, 2023, 6:24PM EDT
At about 3:26 a.m., on Thursday, October 19, a tractor-trailer carrying 44 dairy cows, rolled over on the Interstate 84 westbound exit 10 ramp in Newtown CT, “killing eight of the animals immediately” at the scene, according to a report by the AP. The cows were being transported from Maine to Ohio, state agriculture officials said.
“Authorities summoned a state veterinarian, who decided six other cows needed to be put down. State troopers euthanized the animals at the scene, state police and agriculture officials said,” reports the AP.
The State Department of Agriculture said the remaining 30 cows were taken to a state veterinarian to be evaluated. The driver was not injured.
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, all responded to the scene, the news outlet reported, along with firefighters from the Sandy Hook CT Volunteer Fire & Rescue.
In addition to the damage from the crash, a fuel spill was also reported and it took crews hours to clean up, WFSB reported.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash on Exit 10.
Police closed the westbound side of the Interstate 84 for several hours and has since been reopened.
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Photo: Provided by the Sandy Hook, Conn., Volunteer Fire & Rescue, shows a tractor-trailer rollover carrying 44 cows, on Interstate 84 in Newtown, Conn., Thursday, October 19, 2023. It was determined that 14 of the cows perished as a result of the accident, six were were euthanized on scene. (Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue via AP)
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