Cattle truck stuck under low bridge
/ photo by Chris McGrath
SYRACUSE -- Inspectors are checking out a railroad bridge after a cattle truck slammed into it in Syracuse Thursday night.
The tractor-trailer truck tried to drive underneath the New York Susquehanna & Western railroad bridge on West Genesee Street near Erie Boulevard. That's on the edge of the Tipperary Hill neighborhood. Traffic headed west on W. Genesee Street was severely backed up.
The railroad company says a cursory inspection was done right away after the accident. A full inspection is being done today.
Police say there were 34 cattle on the truck. Officials say seven cows were severely injured and had to be put down. The driver wasn't injured.
Cattle were transferred from the truck that was stuck under the bridge to another truck, where they will be evaluated. The bridge will also be inspected to make sure there wasn't any structural damage. Police say the span has a height clearance of 11 feet, 6 inches while the truck is 13 feet, 6 inches high.
"Unfortunately, on these bridges, we see this happen often," says Syracuse Police Sgt. Tom Connellan. "A lot of times it's tractor trailers. It's a very unique situation to have a double decker cattle car full of cattle."
Police say the driver was coming from a farm in the Sennett area near Auburn and was headed to a slaughterhouse in Philadelphia, PA. It appears someone gave him directions, and he was not familiar with the low bridge.
