Highway 50 reopens after cattle trailer crash spills cows onto roadway

Both directions of U.S. Highway 50 have reopened to traffic west of Placerville after being closed for several hours Wednesday night due to multiple collisions and animals in the roadway.

In a tweet just before 5 p.m., the Placerville-area California Highway Patrol said multiple big rigs had jackknifed on the highway and cattle were blocking the roadway in the Apple Hill area.

CHP dispatchers said eastbound traffic was closed at Smith Flat Road and westbound traffic was closed at Carson Road. The CHP dispatch log reported “wayward” cows in both directions of travel.

CHP spokesman officer Andrew Brown said at least one of the vehicles involved in the collision was a two-trailer cattle truck, and the crash let loose its payload of bovine onto the highway.

KCRA was reporting Wednesday evening that 77 cattle were out on the road.

“Our officers are literally chasing cows through the roadway,” Brown said, adding that no injuries (of humans or cows) had been reported as a result of the collisions.

The closure came as a winter storm bears down on Northern California, causing travel delays and traffic jams throughout the region.

Throughout the holiday week, motorists should keep updated on the latest conditions on Caltrans’ Quickmap website and app.

This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 9:00 PM.