Motorists traveling north from Heber City on Victory Highway may have been in for a grim sight Monday afternoon.
A stack of dead cattle were hauled away from an overturned semi-trailer just before 3:20 p.m., where a livestock trailer and semi had overturned. The semi was south, and from U.S. Route 40 people could see a square hole in the bottom of the trailer through which dead cattle were being pulled. The wreck was a few hundred feet south of where the large road connects with Old Highway 40.
According to Utah Highway Patrol public information officer Sgt. Cameron Roden, the crash occurred at around 12:45 p.m. The driver said his pressure release engine brake failed as he was driving downhill westbound on S.R. 32 and though he still had his regular brakes, Roden said he felt he “had nothing as he got towards the bottom of the hill” at speeds of about 40-45 mph.
“He saw the intersection ahead with US-40 and there was a lot of traffic that was crossing in front him, so rather than drive the truck through the crowded intersection he decided to steer to the left into a dirt parking area,” Roden explained.
Once he had veered into the parking area, the truck continued onto a small frontage road and the driver continued his attempt to stop until the vehicle hit an embankment, tipping the truck and trailer to their side.
While nobody was hurt in the incident, the same can’t be said for some of the livestock in the trailer.
Heber City Police Chief Parker Sever did not have exact numbers to share, but he estimated that about 20 of the 80 cattle left the scene dead.
With the assistance of a tow arm, their bodies were loaded onto a flatbed truck.