Terrifying moment a cow fell from lorry into 60mph M6 traffic
A dramatic photo has captured the moment a cow fell from a lorry on the M6.
The beast toppled into the inside lane before spinning towards cars travelling at 60mph, forcing drivers to take evasive action to avoid a collision. One motorists caught the aftermath of the terrifying incident on his dashcam, reports BirminghamLive.[1]
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 from 10.20am on Tuesday, August 1.
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.
"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.
Panicked cow sprawls in road after falling from a lorry on the M6
"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.
Motorists faced long delays as the incident was cleared. West Midlands Police 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.
If you're on the lookout for local news, we have you covered with our FREE email newsletter - sign up in the box at the top of this story or click here[3].
References
- ^ BirminghamLive. (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ M6 shut and police called in as 'cows fall from lorry' (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ or click here (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)