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CONCORD — Authorities were faced with a surreal scene late Thursday when the doors to a trailer hauling a herd of cattle opened, allowing the animals to escape into traffic near the interchange of Highway 4 and Interstate 680.
At least two of the animals were struck and killed or had to be euthanized, and traffic was backed up in all directions as police and fire crews worked to corral the wayward herd.
The California Highway Patrol received several reports of the incident starting at 8:24 p.m., when a CHP dispatcher was told that cows were stampeding in the roadway on eastbound Highway 4 just east of the I-680 interchange.
"I personally had to herd cows," said CHP Officer Tom Maguire. "I think my feet got stepped on by cows a couple of times."
Maguire said the trailer hauling 10 head of cattle was eastbound on Highway 4 near Solano Way when the rear gate came open. "The driver realizes this and pulled over, but by then they had escaped," he said.
One cow was severely injured when it fell from the moving trailer. The driver, who was not immediately identified, used his knife to euthanize the animal, Maguire said.
The remaining cattle scattered in all directions. Some jumped over the center divider of Highway 4 where one was immediately struck and killed by a vehicle traveling in the westbound lane, Maguire said. The motorist was apparently uninjured and a name was unavailable late Thursday.
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Meanwhile, the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office, Martinez police and Pleasant Hill police joined the CHP and Contra Costa Fire crews to corral the remaining cattle. They turned off their sirens so not to spook them, said CHP Sgt. Trent Cross.
The CHP issued a traffic alert at 9:40 p.m., shutting down Highway 4 between the I-680 interchange and Solano Way. Cross said the cattle truck's driver was cooperating with authorities to round up the remaining animals.
"Several went north to the Benicia Bridge, several went west on Highway 4," Maguire said.
Two of the animals were caught on Highway 4 near Morello Avenue in Martinez. Two more were caught near Marsh Drive in Concord, and one was captured on northbound I-680, Cross said.
The sheriff's office used a helicopter to assist in the capture of the remaining cattle, one of which made it as far as the Benicia Bridge toll plaza — a seven-mile trek from the accident scene — where it was reported walking in the FasTrak toll lane.
Animal control vehicles arrived after 11 p.m. to transport the dead animals.
