An early-morning semi crash near Emporia killed most of the cattle on board.
Originally, the Kansas Turnpike Authority confirmed seven head of cattle were killed when the crash happened at mile marker 119 southbound, eight miles southwest of Emporia, around 12:15 am. Highway Patrol Capt. Joe Bott now says 24 were killed — 17 by the crash, with seven others put down on site.
Thirteen head of cattle survived.
The crash happened when the driver, 56-year-old Terry Bailey of Berryville, Arkansas, fell asleep at the wheel. The semi drifted off the highway before rolling on its side in a ditch. An ambulance took Bailey to Newman Regional Health with suspected minor injuries.
Authorities have not said where the load originated, but Bott says it was headed to a feedlot in Arkansas City.
10:15 am Wednesday: Cattle semi driver falls asleep at wheel before wreck kills 7 head of cattle near Emporia
Seven cattle died when a semi went off the Kansas Turnpike near Emporia early Wednesday morning.
The crash happened at mile marker 119 southbound, or eight miles southwest of Emporia, around 12:15 am. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the driver, 56-year-old Terry Bailey of Berryville, Arkansas, fell asleep at the wheel. The semi drifted off the highway before rolling on its side in a ditch.
Bailey was originally listed as not hurt but later went to Newman Regional Health with suspected minor injuries. There is no word on how many cattle were hurt.
Southbound Turnpike traffic was partially to completely blocked overnight while the semi was taken out of a ditch and uprighted. Authorities have not said where the load originated or where it was headed.
Early indications are the incident was not weather-related.
5:50 am Wednesday: Semi crash near Emporia kills nearly 10 head of cattle
Close to 10 head of cattle are confirmed dead after a semi crashed on the Kansas Turnpike southwest of Emporia.
The Turnpike Authority says the southbound semi crashed at mile marker 119, eight miles southwest of the Emporia tollgate, a bit after midnight. Seven cattle are listed as killed. No injuries to humans have been reported and there is no word on the number of cattle that may have been hurt in the crash.
Southbound Turnpike traffic was completely blocked for roughly an hour while the semi was taken out of a ditch and uprighted. Traffic began moving around the crash site a bit before 6 am. Additional details are pending, but early indications are the incident was not weather-related. We’ll keep you updated on KVOE and KVOE.com.
