Cows killed in San Jacinto semi-truck crash

SAN JACINTO - Around 40 cows died today when the tractor-trailer hauling the animals overturned at a San Jacinto intersection.

The wreck happened around 2:30 a.m. at Sanderson Avenue and the Ramona Expressway, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

The driver of a rig carrying more than 100 dairy cows was attempting to make a left turn from the expressway onto northbound Sanderson when the 18- wheeler tipped over. Investigators at the scene said a weight shift in the trailer apparently caused the entire vehicle to overturn.

Forty dead cows were pulled from the wreckage over six hours, and the surviving animals had to be corralled after a hole was cut in the side of the trailer to free them, requiring deputies to close the intersection until the operation could be completed.

The truck driver, who had loaded up the cattle at a nearby dairy, walked away from the crash.