HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — It took more than 12 hours to fully reopen Interstate 64 in Cabell County following a Saturday morning wreck involving a tractor trailer hauling 96 cows.
Sixty of those year-old cows died in the crash or its aftermath, according to emergency officials.
Huntington Police were still working Sunday to determine the cause of the wreck which ended with the truck overturned in the median and cows on the loose.
The wreck was first reportedĀ at around 8:30 a.m. Saturday in Huntington, between the 5th Street and 17th Street exits, an area that remained closed through the day.
It was 6:30 p.m. before one eastbound lane reopened. A reopening for all lanes followed after 9 p.m.
Some frustrated drivers were stuck on the highway the entire day in traffic that backed up for miles in each direction as cleanup and cow roundup work continued.
More than 30 cows survived the crash and some of them roamed near the crash site before they were wrangled into a temporary corral the state Department of Agriculture, witnesses said.
Another transport vehicle was used to removeĀ them from the scene.
The dead cattle were collected and taken to a landfill in Kentucky.
Emergency officials said no humans were injured in the truck wreck.