3 Cows Killed, Crash Shuts Down I-285

DECATUR, GA — Three cows were killed and dozens more trapped when a tractor-trailer overturned Friday morning on the Interstate 285 ramp onto Interstate 20 eastbound in DeKalb County.

The crash happened shortly after 5 a.m. The tractor-trailer, carrying 36 cows, was headed to Augusta, according to DeKalb County Police. Authorities spent hours rescuing the remaining cows, righting the tractor-trailer and getting the ramp cleared.

The busy interchange was re-opened at about 11 a.m.

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Shortly after 9 a.m., Georgia Department of Natural Resources and DeKalb County Animal Services personnel were at the scene, working to safely remove the cows from inside the overturned truck.

About 36 cows were believed to be inside the trailer. The driver of the tractor-trailer was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to police spokeswoman Shiera Campbell.

The crash comes a little over two weeks after 10 cows were killed when a transport crashed on Interstate 75 in Cobb County.

Authorities say the turn from I-285 onto I-20 East is a particularly tricky one and wrecks involving large vehicles are not uncommon.

"It’s a tough turn around here," DeKalb County Fire & Emergency Services Capt. Dion Bentleytold the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

File photo via Shutterstock