By Jamie Martin
On Monday, a dramatic scene unfolded on Interstate 45 in Houston when 31 cattle escaped from a broken-down trailer. The animals had just been part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo before the incident occurred.
Reports say the trailer door became unlatched while the vehicle was on the highway, allowing the cattle to run free across both lanes. It's still unclear whether the door was secured properly before departure.
Police officers, deputies, and livestock handlers rushed to the scene. They shut down several lanes of the highway near Spring and worked quickly to bring the animals under control.
"Video from KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Houston, showed the animals running down the northbound and southbound lanes with police, deputies and handlers in pursuit, trying to wrangle them."
Amid the chaos, one animal was struck by a moving vehicle, which then overturned. Details on the driver’s condition were not available at the time of the report.
Authorities managed to gather most of the cattle into makeshift pens. However, some of them remained loose even by the afternoon, making traffic recovery slow.
This unusual incident led to a major traffic jam stretching several miles. It also raised concerns about livestock transport safety and proper securing of trailers.
Officials urged drivers to be cautious around livestock trailers and praised the teamwork shown by first responders and animal handlers during the operation.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-jacqueline-nix
Categories: National