<\/p>\n
The intersection of Camino del Rio and U.S. Highway 550 in Durango became a bizarre and chaotic scene Sunday afternoon as emergency crews rushed to rescue about 80 cattle from a semitrailer that over-turned on its side.<\/p>\n
About 4 p.m., reports flew into emergency dispatch the truck was blocking the busy intersection, causing a closure of Camino del Rio. The lanes were reopened about 6:20 p.m.<\/p>\n
Members of Durango Fire Protection District hastened to carve out extraction points on the roof of the truck with an electric saw to allow the livestock to escape.<\/p>\n
Ranchers on horseback stood by to herd the cattle to a makeshift corral on a vacant lot adjacent to the \u201cWelcome to Historic Durango\u201d sign.<\/p>\n
Scott Cox, one of the ranchers, said he was driving his daughter back to Durango from Mancos on U.S. Highway 160 when he noticed the semi.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was not driving straight,\u201d he told The Durango Herald.<\/p>\n
Cox followed the truck from behind, and then, just outside of Durango, he could tell from the semi\u2019s exhaust that the brakes had gone out. As the truck approached the T-intersection, it snaked and fell on its side.<\/p>\n
Cox called his rancher friends, and within 30 minutes, several men on horseback responded.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the cowboy circle, word gets round pretty fast,\u201d Cox said.<\/p>\n
The driver, Travis Phillips, said he was hauling cattle from a ranch in Dolores to a property in southwest Kansas. He told the Herald he is not a contracted driver, and instead said was making the drive as a favor for a business partner.<\/p>\n
Phillips, who suffered only minor injuries, cited a list of failures of the clutch, brakes and power steering in no clear order. He was even unable to name the gear he was in at the time of the accident.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying like hell not to hit anybody,\u201d Phillips, who said he is from Kansas, told the Herald. \u201cI was going 45 miles per hour too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
No arrests were made on the scene. DPD Sgt. William Sweetwood said an investigation will look at the mechanics of the truck, and if necessary, charges could be filed.<\/p>\n
None of some 80 head of cattle was injured. When emergency crews were able to saw out an opening, most of the livestock were standing upright. For the cows knocked down, Cox had entered the trailer and got them on their feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t hear any gunshots, so there must not of been any injured,\u201d said Wyatt Cox, Scott\u2019s son who also took part in the roundup.<\/p>\n
Sweetwood was uncertain if the cattle would be returned to Dolores or be taken to another holding pin. He did say, however, the department was lucky the ranchers were around.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made it a lot easier having these gentlemen here,\u201d Sweetwood said.<\/p>\n
Cox, ending a strange Sunday covered in mud and dung, posed for pictures with his family and fellow ranchers after the cattle were secured. All things considered, he said, it wasn\u2019t the weirdest way he\u2019s ended a weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not my first rodeo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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