Semitrailer loaded with cows sows chaos on Camino del Rio

Sunday, Oct 25, 2015 9:13 AM Updated Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015 3:26 PM

No cattle injured in accident that brought out ranchers to help

Cattle exit a semitrailer after being freed by Scott Cox of Mancos, who witnessed the wreck, and members of the Durango Fire Protection District. A semitrailer carrying the animals overturned Sunday afternoon on Camino del Rio near the U.S. Highway 160 intersection.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

Durango Fire Protection District personnel cut an opening in the top of the overturned trailer to allow cattle to escape.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

The northbound lanes of Camino del Rio near U.S. Highway 160 were closed for more than two hours Sunday evening after a semi-trailer over-turned requiring the extraction of cattle from a trailer.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

No cattle were reported injured after a semitrailer loaded with the animals overturned Sunday afternoon on Camino del Rio near the intersection with U.S. Highway 160.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

The driver of a semitrailer that overturned Sunday afternoon on Camino del Rio said a series of mechanical failures led to the crash.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

The northbound lanes of Camino del Rio near U.S. Highway 160 were closed for more than two hours after a semitrailer over-turned requiring the extraction of cattle from a trailer.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

The northbound lanes of Camino del Rio near U.S. Highway 160 were closed for more than two hours after a semitrailer over-turned requiring the extraction of cattle from a trailer.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

Durango Fire Protection District personnel cut through the trailer to allow cattle to escape after the semitrailer carrying them overturned Sunday afternoon on Camino del Rio.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

Crews from the Durango Fire Protection District and the Durango Police Department were aided by local ranchers who helped handle cattle after a semitrailer that was carrying them overturned Sunday afternoon on Camino del Rio.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - A semi-trailer hauling cattle that tipped over at the intersection of U.S. Highway 550/160 blocks north and southbound traffic on Sunday afternoon.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - Scott Cox of Mancos, top, and members of the Durango Fire Protection District work to free cattle trapped in a semi-trailer on Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Highway 550/160 intersection.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - Scott Cox of Mancos, top, who witnessed the accident, and members of Durango Fire Protection District work to free the cattle.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - Cattle exit the semi-trailer after being freed by Scott Cox of Mancos, who witnessed the wreck, and members of the Durango Fire Protection District.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - Cattle make their exit after firefighters with Durango Fire Protection District created an opening in the semi-trailer.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - Scott Cox of Mancos, left, who witnessed the accident, and members of Durango Fire Protection District work to free the cattle.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - Cattle make their exit after firefighters with Durango Fire Protection District created an opening in the semi-trailer.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - A small crowd gathered at a safe distance to watch the Durango Fire Protection District and volunteers free cattle trapped in the semi-trailer.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - Volunteers with Hi-Country Cattle Auction in Breen move the cattle to a temporary holding pen nearby. They were contacted by Scott Cox, who witnessed the accident, and came to help out.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - After the cattle were freed, Basin Towing & Repair righted the semi-trailer before removing it from the intersection.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - Scott Cox of Mancos, who witnessed the accident and stayed to free the cattle, gives a statement to investigators.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald -

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald - Ty Hawkins and a small group from Hi-Country Cattle Auction in Breen assisted Scott Cox of Mancos in freeing the cattle trapped inside the semi-trailer. Ty finally gets a rest after getting the cattle moved to a temporary holding pen nearby.

The intersection of Camino del Rio and U.S. Highway 550 near the DoubleTree Hotel became a bizarre and chaotic scene Sunday afternoon as emergency crews rushed to rescue about 80 cattle from a semitrailer that over-turned on its side.

Around 4 p.m., reports flew into emergency dispatch the truck was blocking the busy intersection, causing a closure on both northbound and southbound lanes of Camino del Rio. The lanes were reopened about 6:20 p.m. Sunday.

On the scene, members of Durango Fire Protection District hastened to carve out extraction points on the roof of the truck with an electric saw to allow the trapped livestock to escape.

Standing by were ranchers on horseback, at-the-ready to herd the cattle to a makeshift corral on the vacant lot next to the railroad, adjacent to the “Welcome to Historic Durango” sign.

Scott Cox, one of the ranchers, said he was driving his daughter back to Durango from Mancos on U.S. Highway 160 when he noticed the semi driving erratically, speeding up and swerving into oncoming traffic.

“He was not driving straight,” he told The Durango Herald. “Definitely not a guy I’d let haul my cattle.”

Cox followed the truck from behind, and then, just outside of Durango, he could tell from the semi’s exhaust that the brakes had gone out. As the truck approached the T-intersection, it snaked and fell on its side.

Cox immediately called his rancher friends, and within 30 minutes, several men on horseback responded.

“In the cowboy circle, word gets round pretty fast,” Cox said.

The driver, Travis Phillips, said he was hauling cattle from a ranch in Dolores to a property in Southwest Kansas, where he is from. He told the Herald he is not a contracted driver, and instead said was making the drive as a favor for a business partner.

Speaking to the Herald, Phillips, who suffered only minor injuries, was hazy in his account of the incident, citing a list of failures of the clutch, brakes and power steering in no clear order. He was even unable to name the gear he was in at the time of the accident.

“I was trying like hell not to hit anybody,” Phillips said. “I was going 45 miles per hour too fast.”

No arrests were made on the scene. DPD Sgt. William Sweetwood said an investigation will look at the mechanics of the truck, and if necessary, charges could be filed.

Miraculously, none of some 80 head of cattle was injured. When emergency crews were able to saw out an opening, most of the livestock were standing upright. For the cows knocked down, Cox had entered the trailer and got them on their feet.

“I didn’t hear any gunshots, so there must not of been any injured,” said Wyatt Cox, Scott’s son who also took part in the roundup.

Sweetwood was uncertain if the cattle would be brought back to Dolores or be taken to another holding pen in the immediate aftermath of the accident. He did say, however, the department was lucky the ranchers were around.

“It made it a lot easier having these gentlemen here,” Sweetwood said.

Scott Cox, ending a strange Sunday covered in mud and dung, posed for pictures with his family and fellow ranchers after all the cattle were secured. All things considered, he said it wasn’t the weirdest way he’s ended a weekend.

“This is not my first rodeo,” he said.

jromeo@durangoherald.com