Truck hauling over 70 cows overturns in rural Placer County near Newcastle, CHP says

A tractor-trailer holding more than 70 cows overturned Tuesday morning in rural Placer County, the California Highway Patrol said.

About 8:50 a.m., CHP units received a call that a man driving a big-rig truck with a long livestock trailer had overturned at the intersection of Gold Hill and Chili Hill Road, not far from Highway 193, said Officer David Martinez, a spokesperson for CHP’s Auburn office.

Martinez said the driver was on Chili Hill Road making a right turn onto Gold Hill. He got too close to the curb, and there was a slight slope, Martinez added, so the vehicle overturned to the right side due to the weight of the 71 cows in the 53-foot trailer.

The driver suffered minor injuries, and Gold Hill and Chili Hill Roads were both closed due to the incident, Martinez said. Three of the cows suffered fatal injuries, he added.

Martinez said Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit was on the scene along with CHP. The cows were in separate compartments of the trailer, so CHP and Cal Fire NEU personnel had to cut the compartments open to get the cows out.

This story was originally published June 29, 2021 at 2:46 PM.