Moment cow topples from lorry sparking motorway chaos captured …
The dramatic moment a cow toppled from a lorry and into the path of traffic on the M6 has been captured on camera. The animal fell into the inside lane before spinning towards vehicles travelling at 60mph.
Drivers were forced to take evasive action and swerved out of the way after the cow plunged to the ground. The moment the animal dived into the traffic was recorded on video.
Police say another cow also broke free two miles away. The motorway was closed in both directions between junction 7 (Great Barr Interchange) and junction 10 near Walsall[1] from 10.20am on Tuesday, August 1.
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It was shut for almost two hours as the injured animals were secured and moved to safety. Kevin Rogers was on his way to an auction when the bizarre incident unfolded in front of him.
The 52-year-old said he just 'managed to miss' the cow by swerving on to the hard shoulder - near junction nine of the M6. He said: "The cow fell out the bottom of the lorry, the lorry next to it moved and I moved out the way.
Dashcam footage captures moment cow falls from a lorry into live traffic on the M6
"I was the first car coming head-on to it and I managed to miss it. Definitely only one cow fell out the lorry but reports read that there were two cows.
"I think the floor gave way on the bottom and when [the lorry] pulled over when another cow came out. You don’t see that every day - my first thought was not to hit it.
"I didn’t see it fall out the lorry so the first I saw was her sprawling on the road. Thankfully I could swerve onto the hard shoulder to get around it.
"It was a complete surprise. When I safely could, I messaged my wife and said ‘I've nearly been hit by a falling cow on the motorway’.
"She didn’t believe me. I can’t think why." The Central Motorway Police Group tweeted at the time: "We have two injured cows in the carriageway, two miles apart, that have fallen from a lorry.
"Both southbound and northbound closed whilst we try get the injured cows off the motorway safely. Last thing we want is for them to bolt into moving traffic."
Motorists faced long delays as the incident was cleared. West Midlands Police[4] sent officers to the scene to 'keep motorists and the cows safe'.
A force spokesperson said the owner was assisting officers, while it also gave a special mention to Whitewell Logisitcs Ltd who offered to help move the cows.
References
- ^ Walsall (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Sisters sob in court as they're jailed for framing brother-in-law after 'tummy tuck jibe' (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Get a free National Trust pass worth £50 for your family day out this summer (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ West Midlands Police (www.birminghammail.co.uk)