Herd of grazing cows shuts down stretch of Florida’s Turnpike, causes backups for hours
A herd of cows was set loose on Florida’s Turnpike in Central Florida Monday after a cattle truck caught fire.
The “Oh, Florida” moment began around 11:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of the turnpike at mile marker 226 in Saint Cloud, Osceola County, and caused a “cowload” of backups in the area for hours, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A 47-year-old truck driver from Samson, Alabama, told troopers his semi-cab Cattle Hauler caught fire. He pulled over and released the cattle (about 70 cows) so they could escape the flames, troopers said.
Around 70 cows were released onto the Florida Turnpike after their trailer caught on fire, shutting down traffic for 4 hours. https://t.co/K5g2aeAPfN pic.twitter.com/8DtqathHkd
— CNN (@CNN) July 19, 2022
Video taken by local TV news stations showed dozens of cows grazing on the road, with some going into the surrounding woods.
“We hope traffic will be moo-ving again soon,” the Twitter account for Florida’s Turnpike said in a post warning drivers to avoid the area Monday afternoon. The turnpike was closed in both directions while authorities, some on horses, worked to round up the cows and search the woods for any runaway cattle.
Yep, just another day in Florida’s Wild West. As for the drivers who got stuck in the jam, it looks like they made a big Moostake traveling on the turnpike Monday.
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