UPDATE: The Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed April 24 that the driver of a tractor-trailer involved in an April 20 crash in which 13 cattle were killed or had to be euthanized will be charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired.
Sgt. Brad Bucey of the state patrol’s Canfield Post said Wayne Craft, 61, of Frenchville, Pennsylvania was found with marijuana and lab results from a blood test later showed marijuana in Craft’s system at the time of the crash. Bucey said Craft’s license would be suspended, but he could not comment further on potential penalties.
Craft is the owner operator of the rig. Bucey said he did not know if the company that hired Craft is liable in any way.
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio — The Ohio State Highway Patrol reported that 13 cows were killed or had to be euthanized following a tractor trailer crash April 20 on Interstate 80, near the 680 split.
Driver Wayne Craft of Frenchville, Pennsylvania, was traveling eastbound on I-80 at 8:46 p.m., when he drove off the right side of the roadway, hit the cement guardrail, and the trailer turned over on its side, according to Lt. Nakia Hendrix from the Ohio State Highway Patrol Canfield Post.
The 61-year-old Craft was en route from Wooster to Pennsylvania with a load of 37 cattle, Hendrix said.
Craft, the owner-operator of the 2001 Kenworth, was not seriously injured but was taken to a local hospital. He was cited for failure to control.
Roundup
Safety forces and several local volunteers with trailers assisted in finding many of the cattle, which had fled from the scene. Hendrix said. All the cattle were accounted for.
The intestate was closed for approximately six hours, as traffic was diverted southbound on state Route 11.
“Traffic was backed up about a quarter of a mile for the first hour or two,” Hendrix said. “We did have one crash — a rear-end collision — while we were setting up warning signs.”
Investigation continues
Hendrix said that, thus far, there are no indications that the crash was the result of an improper load. State motor carrier investigators were on the scene April 21, however, as the investigation into the crash continues.
(Earlier post, by Katie Woods)
A tractor-trailer overturned on I-80 near the Route 11 ramp and the Interstate 680 split in Austintown Township April 20 around 9 p.m., letting dozens of cattle loose. According to WKBN, the cattle were running on Route 11.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol, several area fire departments and police departments as well as others helped to round up the cattle. It took several hours to clean up the scene on I-80. Some cattle died as a result of the crash, while others were injured, WFMJ reports.
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Thank you for the information and pictures – sharing with TLAER colleagues.
What an udder tragedy.
Yessir!
nuthin’ wrong with smokin’ the ‘whacky-tobaacky.’ nope.
just make sure y’all vote to LEGALIZE POT IN OHIO come November 3, 2015. i remember reading about this in history class–in 1803, all of Ohio founding fathers and mothers expected pot to be legal. Isn’t that what Ohioans have been fighting and dying for since 1803? don’t remember reading anything about ‘freedom’ or farming or ranching in school, nope. POT–it’s where it’s at!
want your herd of cattle to market or grain to the silo–heck, just buy you some insurance. so what if the driver is stoned out of his skull/
yep–nuthin’ wrong at all with “Mary Jane.” (sarc)
here’s all i can say:
http://susandharris.com/marching-into-hell-a-blunt-message-to-the-young-people-of-america/
Amen and Amen!