Cattle truck rolls, blocks I-80

ECHO, Summit County — I-80 westbound near Echo has been blocked after a cattle truck transporting 96 calves flipped Wednesday morning, officials said.

Troopers Tuesday afternoon were still trying to discern what caused the accident, which occurred just after 11 a.m. The driver lost control and flipped the vehicle with 96 calves inside the trailer behind it, said Utah Highway Patrol trooper Cameron Roden. He said only one of the calves got out and was on the roadway, and it has since wandered off.

The accident was still blocking the westbound lane at 2 p.m. Tuesday and has led to total closure of the roadway. Traffic was initially diverted onto the right shoulder of the road but is now being directed around it to the Old Echo frontage road, Roden said.

The driver of the vehicle is the owner and operator of a livestock-transport company. He sustained minor injuries in the crash and was transported to McKay Dee Hospital.

Roden said troopers are unsure where the transporter was coming from or heading to and are also trying to determine how many of the calves were killed in the crash, as 95 of them remained in the trailer.

"We don't know how many died," Roden said. "Troopers said they could hear them moving around, but there's a big chance that there are a few that are dead."

— Emiley Morgan