A truck hauling a trailerload of newborn calves crashed into a creek in central Pennsylvania early Sept. 23, according to Shamokin Dam Fire Company.
Many of the calves were rescued from the toppled trailer by being carried one by one up a steep embankment by first responders and farm workers, the fire department detailed in a Facebook post.
Shamokin Dam Fire Company responded to a call around 2 a.m. Tuesday and found a truck and livestock trailer that had gone off Route 15, over a 20-foot embankment, and overturned in a creek in Shamokin Dam Borough in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. The driver walked away without serious injury.
The trailer contained 106 calves. Fire officials said about a quarter of the calves died, but several dozen calves survived the crash. Extra manpower was requested from neighboring departments and other agencies to help get the young animals out.
Once the truck was removed from the scene, firefighters determined the “trailer could not be lifted safely without risking further harm to the surviving calves.”
Crews forded the creek and cleared brush to gain access to the trailer. The calves were then pulled from the trailer and carried up the embankment and passed from person to person to safety. Crews used ladders to get up the steep hill.
“Over the next 90 minutes, fire crews and farm workers worked side by side to remove calves from the trailer,” Shamokin Dam Fire Company wrote. “In the end, several dozen (calves) were successfully rescued and loaded into a replacement trailer.”
Fire officials told The Daily Item, the local newspaper for the Central Susquehanna Valley, that the truck driver fell asleep while driving. The surviving calves were transported
Hummels Wharf Fire-Rescue, Point Township Fire Company, Northumberland Fire Department, East Sunbury Hose Company #1, Kratzerville Volunteer Fire Department and Union Township Fire Company also assisted at the scene. Aurands Auto Service LLC also responded.
