Cows roam Kansas City highway after trailer plunged off overpass

Key points

• A semitractor-trailer fell from a Kansas City highway overpass, killing many of the cattle it carried.
• The truck's driver and the driver of a car it landed on had minor injuries and were hospitalized.
• Officials said all surviving cows were accounted for by Sunday afternoon after some walked several miles.

A semitractor-trailer carrying cattle plunged off a highway overpass in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, early Sunday, landing on a car and releasing dozens of animals onto the streets below. The crash happened shortly before 3 a.m. at the westbound I-70 curve over southbound I-35, and some roads were closed.

The truck's driver and the driver of the car it landed on suffered minor injuries and were treated at local hospitals, authorities said. Police Sgt. Phil DiMartino said between 45 and 60 of the 120 to 130 cattle on board were killed when the rig overturned and fell.

Search for surviving cattle

Dozens of cows fled the scene, causing other crashes and prompting calls from the public, DiMartino said. City authorities sent up drones to track them, and a private company working with the trucking company brought workers on horseback to round them up.

Some of the cattle walked several miles before being captured, said Kansas City Fire Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins. In an afternoon update, DiMartino said it was believed all cows had been accounted for.

It is believed all cows have now been accounted for

— Kansas City Police Sgt. Phil DiMartino

Traffic and game day

The accident occurred on a day when the Kansas City Chiefs were hosting the Los Angeles Chargers in an NFL game. Authorities did not expect major disruptions to game traffic because of the wide publicity the accident had received.

Hopkins described the scene as "a pretty nasty accident" and said recovering the animals that did not survive had been more difficult.