A Moo-ving Story from Berks County

Cumru Township police Sgt. James Griffith experienced a first in his career when two cows died after falling onto Route 222 from the Old Lancaster Pike overpass near Gouglersville.

Griffith said one cow died on impact while the other was hit by a tractor-trailer about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.  The cows belonged to a herd of 14 that escaped from a farm on Beavens Road in Brecknock Township, he said.  They were first spotted near the Gouglersville Fire Company about 1 p.m. before making their way to the retaining wall at the Old Lancaster Pike overpass, Griffith said.

He was on the scene with the cows at 8:30 p.m., trying to find an owner. While he was farther up the highway, something spooked the cows, sending them barreling toward the end of the wall.  Griffith said that once the first of the cows got to the edge and saw the 20- to 30-foot drop, they stopped. However, the other cows rammed into their backs and the momentum created a domino effect, bumping two cows off the edge and onto the highway.

“It was quite an event,” Griffith said. “In my 18 years, that’s the first time I had a cow fall from an overpass.”

Griffith said one of the cows landed on the highway, got up and started running, only to collide with the front passenger side of the tractor-trailer. The truck had to be towed.  The driver was shaken up, but not injured, Griffith said.

With the help of the Animal Rescue League, which brought tranquilizer guns to sedate the animals, eight cows were captured in the two hours after the crash. Griffith said the other four are, to his knowledge, still missing.  The owner of the cows told police he was not certain how the animals escaped, but believed someone opened the gate.

Griffith said he was thankful to the many people in the area that helped corral the cows and prevent further accidents.

–  Thanks to the Coupongy Correspondent from Sinking Springs for this article from The Reading Eagle.

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