Twenty-four cattle die in tractor trailer rollover on I-17, driver cited

Arizona Department of Public Safety re-opens one lane southbound on I-17 near Sunset Point
Overturned semi-tractor trailer rig collision causes closure
Friday, April 01, 2011 -

On Friday, April 1, 2011, at approximately 3:05 a.m., a tractor trailer rig carrying 37 head of cattle was southbound on I-17 one mile north of the Bumble Bee exit when the driver lost control of the vehicle. The truck struck a guardrail causing the trailer to overturn on the highway.

Interstate 17 remained closed for more than eight hours as DPS officers along with ADOT crews and local ranchers helped to transfer the cattle out of the overturned trailer and into other trailers brought to the scene.

As a result of the impact of the collision, 24 cattle were deceased inside the trailer, 13 survived.

The driver of the semi, Tucker Green, 37 of Box Elder, South Dakota, will be cited for failure to control his vehicle. DPS Commercial Vehicle officers have not ruled out fatigue as a cause of this collision.

Green is the owner/operator of the vehicle and was traveling from Oshkosh, Nebraska to Phoenix. He was not injured in the collision.

One lane southbound will remain open for the rest of the day as crews remove animal carcasses from the scene. DPS advises drivers to use alternate routes to avoid southbound I-17.